Whiskey & Cakesters
by Delta 9
Summary: In the chaos of a walker ambush Carl and Sophia are separated from their parents, placing them in the care of Daryl Dixon, who is fully capable of surviving on his own but has no experience being a guardian. Will he be able to get them all back safely?
1. Don't Y'all Know Nothing

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. It all belongs to Robert Kirkman, Frank Darabont (for the moment) and others in the employ of AMC **

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><p>Hands reached out of the dark and grabbed both Carl and Sophia by the back of their shirts.<p>

As their final nerves snapped, they let loose high-pitched screams that weren't heard over gunfire even to the ears of their mothers who were frantically looking for them.

Those same hands wrapped themselves around their mouths, silencing them in seconds.

"You tryin' to get bit?" Said a familiar southern accent. "God damn, its me"

Daryl pulled them up on to a porch, away from herd of hungry walkers.

The door to the house was locked. Daryl tried kicking it in, tried and tried again until his knee started to twinge a bit. It did not give an inch.

"C'mon," he beckoned to the children.

No geeks noticed them as they hugged the shadows, following the dirty white lattice around the side of the house.

The fence was high, so high that Daryl had to jump to get a grip on the top. He scanned the backyard. No shambling cadavers in sight.

Two shambling cadavers had them in sight from the front.

Carl held an arm in front of Sophia, moving them backwards as far as they could. Their backs hit the wooden slates.

One of the walkers reached out to them with its decaying gray hand, its jaw unhinged, sucking in breath in a raspy growl.

A soft whir then an arrow imbedded itself in its neck, severing its spinal chord. It dropped, and writhed to the best of its ability, which wasn't much, on the suburban lawn.

Daryl reloaded the crossbow in record time, he didn't want to attract any more of them with the sound of a gunshot, and nailed the other one square between the eyes because he wasn't also holding himself up this time around.

The arrows were retrieved in another record setting time. The one with the arrow in its neck bared it's few remaining discolored teeth.

"You gotta purty mouth," said Daryl grabbing the end of the shaft and ripping it out with that garbled suction noise.

Being either brain dead or far too young for it, no one in earshot caught the _Deliverance_ reference.

Carl and Sophia were still huddled up against the fence. Their wide eyes caught the burning white flashes of gunshots in the distance, silhouetting a few of the many walkers that were between them and their parents.

The only thing standing between them and the hungry herd was Daryl Dixon.

The kids were too stunned to move. Before they were noticed again, he hoisted each one of them up on to the fence. Carl hopped down once Daryl leapt over. It was quite the drop but the ground was soft due to the overgrown crop of grass. Sophia waited to be helped down even though Daryl had been a bit rough on her ribs when he picked her up before.

The backdoor was as impossible as the front was and the windows were boarded up with unmerciful plywood. This place was a stronghold; it would be perfect if only they could get into it.

The houses on either side would be less of a challenge. The windows were smashed, there'd be no resistance getting in, meaning they were walker traps.

Daryl picked up a small end table from the patio set and started beating the large wooden window no more then three steps from the door, concentrating on the lower corner, hoping it would lift and yield an entrance.

Each heavy bang made them flinch. Every bang opened up the possibility of attracting fatal attention. Like startled rabbits, they stood still with the exception of small twitches; keeping a fearful watch for any movement from the shadows, ready to run on the first sight of anything.

The hammering was interrupted by a sharp crack as the wood gave way and a laugh with panted breath. With a weakness in the structure, it only took two more hits with the now dented in iron table to break the hold on the upper corner.

If there were any walkers, they would have heard all the commotion and be trying to reach out right about now. All the same Daryl readied the handgun. The opening looked too slim to fit the crossbow through at the same time as himself unfortunately.

"Hand this into me" he instructed as he passed it off to Carl.

It was heavy then Carl expected, especially compared to his dad's python.

The rough edge of the wood scrapped against his chest, stopping in crook in the middle of his ribcage. The opening turned out to be too slim for Daryl to fit through at all.

After he gave the crossbow back to its original owner, Carl stepped up to the window, un-vocally volunteering himself to go in.

Daryl knew it was not a good idea to send him in first and tried to think of something else to try. He could try and break more of the plywood, but making more noise and tiring himself out presented too much risk.

The back fence started trembling violently as something or something's rammed into it again and again.

Now they had only had one option; get inside as quickly as possible.

Carl squeezed through the window, disappearing into the sheltered darkness.

"Hey" Daryl whispered sharply after him. "Get back here"

Carl came back in to view. Daryl put the loaded handgun in Carl's hands. Lori would flip shit but Lori was not here, he was and he was not going to send the kid in alone and defenseless.

The fence continued to shutter and shake. Growls, snarls and other noises could be heard on the other side.

Sophia whimpered and started to squirm. Daryl's hand hovered over her shoulder, prepared to grab her the second she decided to bolt.

It was pitch black inside; Carl oriented himself from the window. The door should be only a couple of steps away on the left. He kept his free hand sliding along the wall. It rounded an unforeseen corner, then dipped slightly in to the doorframe. He found the doorknob and above it the deadlock that had kept them out.

The unbolting of the door made an audible click that made a tense Daryl and exceptionally scared Sophia breathe the first small sigh of relief of the night. Without any delay they joined Carl on the inside, escaping the maddening noise of the walkers testing the fence.

As luck would have it Daryl happened to have a lighter in his pocket, which had seemed like a good idea before and was a stroke of brilliance now. The flickering flame was overwhelmed by the size of room. It only illuminated the eyes looking up to him of all people.

No longer in imminent danger, the new situation presented itself in those young eyes.

Daryl, whether he knew how to be or not, was now wholly responsible for Carl and Sophia.

_Son of a bitch._

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><p>Author's Note:<p>

This is my first Walking Dead fan fic, I hope you all enjoyed it.


	2. Let Me Process This

_Just thought I'd let you know that I edited the first chapter, its more or less the same._

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><p>For an exceptionally long moment, the mismatched trio just stared at each other.<p>

Carl offered the gun back to Daryl. The simple movement of reaching out his arm, then wrapping his fingers around the barrel put Daryl's mind back into cognitive abilities.

_All I have to do is keep them from getting eaten until the rest of the group comes back, which will be at most a few hours. I can do that._

Being the only responsible adult no longer seemed so daunting when Daryl thought about it that way.

The darkness was menacing, threatening them with its secrets of un-presented danger.

"Let's make sure we're alone here," he said.

He said _that_ to a pair of children in an abandoned, boarded up house.

Stay close died somewhere in the back of Daryl's throat when he realized how wrong that came out. Hopefully the creepiness was as lost on them as the _Deliverance _quote was.

The lighter was held inches from the gun, (the gun being the primary weapon only because he could hold it along with the lighter) the kids were on his heels as they moved their way stealthily down the hallway.

In an instant they were submerged in darkness. Sophia screamed at the suddenness of being fully blind, not full pitch but loud enough.

"Hush" Daryl said harshly.

Sophia was lucky he couldn't see her or he might have just given her a good cuff upside the head.

The faint clicking could hardly be heard over Daryl's string of rather creative curses. He must have run his thumb over the small wheel a hundred times before a stable flame lit up again. They carried on along the house, finding nothing more than shadows and hearing nothing more then their heartbeat in their own ears. The house was as desolate as it promised.

The den on the second floor was the best place for them to wait. The large street ward facing windows were uncovered, allowing the moonlight to make the room slightly visible, allowing Daryl to re-pocket the lighter, conserving its dying last breaths and more importantly giving a vantage point of the street; a clear view of nothing. His eyes swept over every inch of ominous suburbia. Absolute nothing. They were one hundred percent on their own.

"You guys should try and get some sleep," he told them.

They all settled down on the sectional sofa; Carl took the end bit and Sophia lie on the next part so that their heads were huddled together. Daryl sat on top of the couch, looking out the street. At camp he rightfully got out of nightly watch duty because he did all the hunting, (another smaller reason was that no one wanted his hair-trigger temper to be even more unstable with sleep deprivation) tonight however he was the only one available. Its not like Daryl was going to sleep anyway, not when a jumbled mess of thoughts was going to keep him awake.

The most prominent was still the pressure of looking after Carl and Sophia. If anything happened to either of those two, it would be entirely on him. Daryl was not overly fond of anyone in their group but he caught himself wishing for anyone else to be with him right now even if that meant taking orders from Rick or Shane.

Then again if someone else were here he wouldn't need to be. If it weren't for these kids, this could've been the push he needed to break away from the group for good.

When they had headed out to the CDC, Daryl had come so close to throwing his truck around and going back to the quarry even though it would be wait for someone who was never going to come back. Merle should have hands down beaten them back to camp. And that's what had kept him from turning around. Merle had abandoned him.

You don't do that to family.

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><p>In keeping with routine, Carl said his prayers. Not to disturb Sophia who could be sleeping for all he knew, he said them in his head. Mom, plus his Sunday school teacher had told him that God could always hear them. He hoped they all were right because Carl really needed God to hear his prayers tonight.<p>

_Please God_ he started that way because it was a desperate situation.

_Let my parents be unhurt and safe. And let everyone else be safe and unhurt too. _

Exhausted by all the action and nerves and so comforted by his prayers that Carl could feel himself already about to slip off to sleep. Before that happened he did manage to finish with what he always did nowadays:

_Keep the dead out. _

Sophia would've given anything to be on her hard foamy in her tent with her most prized possession, Eliza's doll hugged right up against her and with her mom within arm's reach.

She didn't know where her mom was or even if she was alive. What if Sophia never got to see her mom again?

Her throat began to close up on her. Sophia tried to stop thinking about her mom. If she started crying, Daryl would get mad at her. That didn't stop her distress. It made it worse. Sophia was scared of Daryl.

She buried her face in the plushy couch cushion to stifle the sound of her cries.

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><p>Sophia's sobs did not fall on deaf ears.<p>

The sound grated his nerves. Daryl knew he should try and do something for her but he hadn't a clue as to what. The most experience he had with children was the time he had held his cousin's baby at his uncle's third wedding.

Daryl started biting his index fingernail because his thumbnail had been bitten down to nothing.

Morning could not come soon enough.

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><p>Author's note:<p>

Special Thanks to those who reviewed: Willow The Collie,  SeekersTF4 Azalia Fox Knightling  Lenora  and last but not least the mysterious Anonymous. Thank you all so much. You drove me to put up the second chapter as quick as I could. Reviews are always much appreciated.

I have wrote a checklist of responsibilities for Daryl. Be excited for that in upcoming chapters.

Also there is a poll on my page, go and take, I'm playing with a couple of ideas for the story so I decided to see what you guys would like, results are hidden so you'll be surprised.

As always thanks for reading, subscribing and faving


	3. You Do What Has To Be Done

**Before we jump in, I wanted to share a piece of Daryl's bio on that was recently put up on AMC TV's website on The Walking Dead page because I absolutely love it: (Historical note: this is going into Season 2)**

"…_**he is appreciating the concept of family from afar, perhaps for the first time in his life. He slowly starts to develop individual relationships, all the while fighting his instinct to be distant, yet feeding his need for emotional connection**__**like a child.**_**"**

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><p>The last time Daryl watched a sunrise, he was sitting in a tree freezing his ass off in Canada, waiting to get the hide of an elk in the cross hairs of his crossbow. He ran his hand over the camouflage strap on the very same crossbow. Besides the temperature, that had been such a good weekend; hunting, time to himself, and a cheap turkey dinner at Earl's because it was Thanksgiving in Canada. Damn, he really missed the old days.<p>

He tasted blood as he unconsciously started biting his thumbnail again. He really needed to stop biting his nails.

It was no good to dwell on the past.

Outside the walkers were milling around, . Inside the sun's light pushed the darkness back. The house was starting to become visible to a yellow musty degree.

What Daryl really needed to do was get out of his head, getting out off this room would be a start.

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><p>His surroundings were alien to him. Carl blinked a couple of time to make sure he was awake. Where was he?<p>

The events of last night came back; the walker attack, getting pulled away by Daryl, going over the fence and then into this house.

_Where's Daryl? _ He thought noting his absence from the top of the couch.

Carl felt a sharp panic in his chest that shook his entire core, which had become a normal feeling lately as compared to that one odd time in the past when he wandered away from his mom at the mall.

_He wouldn't leave us, would he?_

Out of everyone in camp, Daryl Dixon was the person Carl knew the least. They had little interaction with each other. It was nothing personal; Daryl had become increasingly isolated from everyone. Carl knew that he was too brash to be shy, so he was most likely still angry with everyone about his brother being left behind in Atlanta. Carl could still remember peering around his mother in Dale's RV and seeing a large portion of the fight that followed the news. As relieved as he has been that his dad and Shane hadn't gotten hurt, the fight had raised a red flag; Carl was worried that Daryl might still try and hurt his dad.

Next to him, Sophia finally started to stir. Her eyes scanned the living room before they met his.

"Morning" he said, it was almost a strange thing to say because how normal it was.

Sophia nodded her head, rubbing one eye in response.

"Should we go downstairs?" Asked Sophia quietly.

They climbed down the stairs holding hands. Having been able to spend the whole night here, it was clear the house was safe; all the same they were both pretty apprehensive about leaving the living room. The comfort of the innocent contact between them gave them the strength they need to go down to the ground floor.

Daryl was shaving in the kitchen, because that's where the best light was. Without the luxury of running water, he had to do it dry and the pull of the razor was unpleasant but it kept his hands busy and he had been getting pretty scruffy.

Sophia and Carl broke apart to take a seat at the table. They waited on some instructions from Daryl, who didn't notice them at first. The kids were so quiet coming in to the room; it startled him to see them appear suddenly.

The way they were looking at him reminded him of the way their dogs use to when they needed to be fed. They were probably hungry.

"There is probably something you could eat in the pantry if you're hungry," he said with out of character tentativeness.

They both took the invite to get something to eat. Chatting softly as they explored the choices in the panty.

"Can we have pop tarts?" Carl asked, rather excitedly.

"Have whatever you want, I ain't your mother." Answered Daryl.

The pop tarts were stale, but it had been so long since either of them had anything like the sugary pastries that they didn't mind and it did not keep them from having seconds or thirds in Carl's case. He did offer to split the last one with her.

When Daryl was done giving himself razor burn, he went and checked the bathroom for some aftershave. He found some rather fancy stuff in a bedroom en suite. It stung. It stung a lot.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." He swore through gritted teeth. He was happy his wards stayed downstairs. His eyes were tearing up. Just a little bit.

The task had given him the idea of searching the house for supplies. The pair in the pantry came up with the same idea when they found a box of cakesters they were too full to eat. They'd have to take them back to camp. They would have had them for breakfast if they had seen them before. Being away from their moms did have a silver lining.

"What should we do now?" asked Carl.

"We could play hide an' go seek," suggested Sophia.

Since they were always under the watch of someone, they couldn't play the classic game.

"Ok. You're it." Carl darted out of the pantry.

She counted to twenty, counting faster near the end. Then began to look for her best friend. Looking in the surrounding closest, behind the couch. He must be hiding upstairs

"Where's the other one?" Daryl asked her, when they crossed paths on the stairs.

"I don't know," she said, wide eyed.

"What?"

The bit in his tone scared her from explaining to him that they were playing hide and seek.

Daryl was madder at himself then he was with Sophia. He had lost one already. How long had it been half an hour? He was not cut out for this.

"Carl!"

Carl heard Daryl call him from his hiding spot in the laundry room. Sophia only peeked her head in briefly because it was so dark in there. He crawled out of the space between the washer and the wall, knowing he had to forfeit and fast.

"Car-, " Daryl repeated. " Don't go running all over the place and for Christ sakes stay together."

So much for hide and seek.

"Yes, sir" Sophia squeaked out of habit.

Her dad had always required an answer. That one was always good for him. With Daryl however:

"Don't sass me."

Carl felt bad for Sophia, she looked like she was going to cry. She held it together, only rubbed her eye.

"They'll be here real soon," he whispered to her.

They followed Daryl. That was not what he meant when he said stay together but it was probably for the best. He probably wouldn't lose them if they stuck close. No guarantees though.

"Can we take the cakesters?" Carl asked timidly. It was the first thing that had been said as they gathered still edible food into a backpack.

"What's that?"

"They're giant oreo cookies. They're really good."

"Sure."

They were past their expiry date but Daryl felt bad about snapping at them before; sure he was panicked but he should have handled it better.

_They're more scared of you then you are of them. _ He thought of that old saying. He noticed that Sophia, especially was keeping her distance from him.

When they were finished with food; cans of soup and such, the aforementioned cakesters and a half empty bottle of Jack Daniels, he needed some reward for watching these two. They went to see what could be salvaged in the garage. Given all the knick-knacks that decorated the house, it probably belonged to an older married couple.

All of a sudden Carl felt nauseous and he tossed his cookies on the other side of silver BMW.

"Whoa, what's wrong?" Daryl asked, rather alarmed.

"I don't feel good."

_What if the kid got bit? _ He could not help but jump to the absolute worst explanation. Zero tolerance was not an easy rule to follow in this situation. What the hell would he tell Rick and Lori?

Before Carl could comprehend it, Daryl grabbed him by the collar, and had a hand on his forehead. He was a little warm, but he wasn't burning up. How long did that doctor say it took for the tell tale fever to start?

The smell of puke made a queasy Sophia vomit. There was a common denominator and that was ninety percent pop tart.

"How many pop tarts did you guys eat?"

"Two and a half" answered Sophia

"Three and a half" answered Carl.

Daryl rolled his eyes. No wonder they were both sick. He could only blame them a little, after all he was the idiot who allowed them to eat a whole box of pop tarts.

"Lets go, uh back inside and you can lay down," he suggested.

They both nodded as lifelessly as they looked. He took them up to the master bedroom. They climbed up on the king sized and nestled under the comforter. They were not the happy kids he use to see run all over the place at camp, they looked downright miserable and that was his fault.

"I'll go see if I can find some gravol or somethin'"

There was some medicine in the medicine cabinet, nothing for children though. Daryl was not comfortable giving them anything else might do. He was pretty drug shy in general to tell the truth.

What could he do to fix this? He may not know anything about caring for children but he had been a kid once himself. What happened to him when he got sick?

Salt water. Ever since Daryl could remember he always drank salt water when he was sick, to this day he still did.

With the aid of a rain barrel and the barbeque in the backyard, then the main ingredient; salt from the cupboard. His home remedy was complete.

"Here, it tastes funny but it works" Daryl handed them each a glass of cloudy water.

As promised it was funny tasting. But they did as they were told and drank it all.

Since Sophia hadn't slept well the night before so she been running on all sugar she had for breakfast, she crashed. Carl just lay there; he was sort of tired, not enough to sleep. His dad would be here any minute now.

Daryl did a quick check of the perimeter. Even more of the walkers had become inactive, laying about on the street. At least something was working in his favor.

_All I have to do is keep them from getting eaten until the rest of the group comes back, which will be at most a few hours. I can do that. _He remembered thinking that last night

The kids getting sick made him realize that being their guardian was way more involved then just simply keeping them safe. For starters they needed to be fed something of nutritional value, which seemed like something he should've already known. He wasn't so sure he could do this anymore. Its not like it was choice though. He had to do this.

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><p>Authors note: Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canadian homey's.<p>

So guess what is a week away today? Appropriate to use a season 2 quote for this chapter. I got it from one of the 30 second promos. Can you tell me who said it? and who the last two quotes belonged to?

Because I am very thankful for all the reviews I changed the order of what I was getting done first in my writing projects and made sure this got done first. Thank you all so much: ladyfox, Anonymous, Willow The Collie, Aown1669, lenora, TrunksgirlBlaze27, Ichigo95, DeathSidhe. 

Daryl Dixon learns you can't let seven year olds eat what they want. And also learns how to care for sick kids. He's doing a better job then he thinks he is, the main instinct is there, he has not even considered leaving them even though he's not on great terms with everyone else. But he definitely has to learn to be nicer.

Lastly if you haven't already go watch The Walking Dead cast interview on AMC TV, go do it or just go check out the whole page.


	4. Happens All The Time

**Disclaimer**: nothing belongs to me,

**Regarding spoilers**: As this was started prior to Season 2, the events of season 2 have not taken place in this story (the back story is they stopped in a some town instead of getting stuck on the interstate, you should know that if you've watched any of the promos), therefore if you have been unable to see every episode that has been aired before reading this you don't have to worry about having anything spoiled. However I read that during this season we will get to learn Daryl's background and other things, which will be relevant and fair game to this story. If I put in anything that recent in I will warn you so you can decide if you want to learn through my story or learn from the TV show.

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><p>Time heals all wounds. It heals sugar-induced stomachaches too.<p>

"Do you have a five?" Carl asked.

"Go fish"

What time didn't help with was their anxiety.

"Do you think something bad happened?" Sophia asked. "They should be here already, shouldn't they?"

"No, it's a big neighborhood, they just don't know where we are. As long as we stay in the house with Daryl we'll be ok." Carl said.

He hoped there was no doubt in his voice. Truth be told, Carl had begun to worry himself but he wasn't going to let Sophia know that. He knew his composure was keeping her from losing it all together. Her mouth twisted downward as she surveyed her hand.

"Do you have a queen?"

With anything useful packed up

Daryl was dozing on and off. Every time he woke up he expected to hear the voice of Rick or the emotional sobs of Lori or Carol or maybe the emotional sobs of Rick, whatever a family reunion sounded like. All he heard was:

"Go fish."

And then his stomach growling, he had been so preoccupied with all the goings on, he had not noticed he was ever hungry today. In other words, for the first time in his life, Daryl had forgotten to eat. He should feed them something too, lord knows they couldn't be trusted to feed themselves.

"Do you – hey you hear that." Carl put his cards facedown and ran up on to the couch to look out the window.

Sophia waited for an explanation as to what she should be hearing before she climbed up next to him.

"What is it?" she asked, trying to follow his darting glances of the street. "Carl, what is it?"

Carl didn't reply, he couldn't risk drowning out what he thought he heard; his dad calling his name. They scrutinized every detail of the street in silence. Having not seen it in daylight hours they were shocked by the size of it and the amount of obstacles in the way.

"Do y'all feel like you could eat some dinner?" asked Daryl.

"Yeah," Carl answered for both of them.

It turned out he wasn't ready to leave the window though and Sophia ended up in the kitchen with Daryl. Alone.

Inside the main pouch of the backpack, there was two road flares, some matchbooks, whiskey, band aids, cakesters, (which were completely ruled out), granola bars, packages of instant rice and…

"How 'bout soup?" Daryl pulled out some of the scavenged cans. Weren't you suppose to feed sick people soup or was that just a old wives tale, "Do you like soup?"

"Yes sir." Sophia said by accident. She couldn't help it, she was nervous. Sophia was always in tense state around men, thanks to her dad. She had just started to get over this anxiety with Rick and that took a longer then it should considering how nice Rick was.

With a level head on his shoulders, Daryl was able to catch the tone in which she said it, not to mention the frightened look of her face. Sophia was not sassing him. Odds were she hadn't been sassing him before either. The thing was no one had ever called him sir without being a smart ass until now. It weirded him out.

"You can drop this sir shi- stuff," he barely managed to turn it around, "an' just call me Daryl"

"Yes, " they were both surprised another sir didn't slip out.

He held a can of cream of mushroom in one hand and vegetable soup in the other and tried to figure out what would be easier on their stomachs in case they were still sick.

"Cream of mushroom or vegetable?" Daryl decided to include them in the decision.

"I don't like cream of mushroom," answered Carl, who just walked in. "Please don't tell my mom we have it. Or maybe we should leave it here"

"Can't do that but here" Daryl ripped off the red and white Campbells label and threw the crumpled ball over his shoulder. "Now no one will know,"

"How are you going to cook it?" Carl asked, going through the backpack himself, making sure all the other cream of mushroom soups had no labels.

"On the barbeque."

"Can you really do that?"

"Yeah. It'll be Australian vegetable soup" Daryl hacked his Bowie knife around the rim rather than look through the drawers for a can opener.

That answer seemed to satisfy Carl. The contents of the can were emptied into a pot and without any further questions, they wandered on to the back porch they had wanted so badly off the night before. The strike strip on the matchbook was worn out; Daryl snapped the head off the matches left when he put too much pressure on it trying to create friction. He lit the next one off the back of his front teeth.

"How'd you do that?" asked Carl.

"Magic" he answered as he tried to get it to ignite.

The propane snatched the flame off the match and spread it across the grill. Once the orange broth began to bubble, Daryl shut the lid. They knew walkers were drawn by smell, the jury was out when it came to well. That was not something he wanted to find out.

"Good thing folks 'round here hated their neighbors huh," Daryl said.

The fence, like everything else, was more impressive in the light. That did beg the unsettling question how many walkers had been beating against it to get shake like it did.

He lifted the lid and stirred up the vegetables stuck at the bottom. Two more minutes, Daryl figured when he tested it. Better to burn it then give them food poisoning and have them get sick again.

The air out here fresh, not stuffy like in the house. Despite Sophia would rather be inside. It was eerily quiet

"I'll set the table" she found an excuse to go back inside.

Inside the china cabinet, Sophia found some ivory bowls, the edges decorated with the blue jays. She knew they were too fancy to use but hey it was the end of the world wasn't it? Sophia placed them on the table. On the first shelf on the china cabinet she found the silverware, even though spoons was all they really needed, Sophia grabbed the forks, knives and even the lace napkins, they lie on to complete her arrangement. Her dinner guests came through the door as Sophia was folding the napkins in to triangles like her mom use to do for Christmas dinner.

"Ooo, fancy-schmancy" Carl commented, smiling at her.

"Soup in the middle?" asked Daryl, not wanting to throw off the careful table setting. This may just be the fanciest table he ever sat at.

"Yep" Sophia nodded.

"Is there one of those big spoons" Daryl gestured with his hands about the size of the missing spoon.

Sophia hopped up and grabbed a ladle. They all dished up with it, the bowls were pretty, pretty impractical as bowls. They did not hold a lot.

"We have to say grace," Carl piped up before they started eating.

"You can," snorted Daryl.

It was his initial first response, a picture perfect think-before-you-open-your-mouth moment. It would not have been so bad if it had been toward anyone other then these two. They were just kids and Carl looked offended and hurt.

_Didn't I say I was going to try and be nicer?_ Daryl reminded himself.

"Alright" he put his spoon down and clasped his hands. They all sat in that pose in silence for a bit too long. "Well?"

"You're the adult."

" Ok then. God…um, thanks for the soup. Amen"

Maybe next time, Carl would just say grace because Daryl sucked at it. They had more to be thankful for like the house they were in, that they were safe.

The only sounds were the clinking of the spoon against the bottom of the bowls and slurping. Daryl and Sophia were both use to quiet dinners. For Carl it was odd.

"Have you ever been to Australia?" he asked just to be saying something.

"No. Way too expensive. Plus they got some scary ass shit out there, spider as big as your head."

For the first time, Daryl did not cause Sophia's startled expression, well at least not directly or on a personal level. It went quiet again.

"Who do you think lived here?" Carl wasn't about to give up.

"Old people, probably grandparents." Daryl answered.

"My grandparents live in Illinois, they had a little dog that was really mean, it got sick and died. It bit me for no reason once so I was sort of glad it did but I never said so." Carl shared. "Can we have cakesters for desert?"

Daryl rubbed the corners of his mouth. They had finished all their soup but he preferred it stay in them.

"You can each have half, and no arguing. I don't need you getting sick again."

There were no buts about it. After their small desert, it was back to the waiting game. For Carl and Sophia this meant distracting themselves playing cards.

"Do you know any other games?" asked Daryl.

He was getting real sick of hearing go fish every two to five seconds.

Sophia and Carl could not help but think about hide and seek. But they did not dare bring it up.

"I know bridge," said Sophia.

He was willing to bet they did not know how to play poker and he didn't think he would be able to teach them how to play Texas hold 'em.

"Wanna learn how to play bullshit?"

They were both enthusiastic about it, sounded like fun. Daryl took a seat on the floor with them and shuffled up the deck.

It didn't take much explaining, everyone lays down cards in numerical order, if someone thought you were lying about what you lay down, they called bullshit and if you were cheating you picked up the pile, if you weren't, the one that accused you had to pick up the pile. First one to get rid of all their cards won. They caught on to the game quick enough. Their weakness was that they were so excited about being able to cheat, (and being allowed to swear) and so bad at hiding it. Daryl caught them cheating every time and he won the first game in a landslide.

The second go round the thrill of cheating wore off and there was more of a focus on winning, which meant not picking up the pile.

"Two sixes" Sophia slid a pair towards the discard pile.

It passed with the boys.

"One seven," Daryl threw a card down.

No one challenged it.

"One eight," Carl tossed in a card.

It checked out with other two.

"A nine" said Sophia.

Carl looked like he was going to say something but he kept any doubt to himself.

"Three tens"

That was not possible. She had gotten rid of two tens before and no one had picked up the pile since.

"Bullshit," Sophia blurted before the challenge window closed.

"You sure about that? That's a lot of cards, wouldn't want to make a bad call" Daryl tried to psych her out.

"Yes "

Grudgingly Daryl flipped over his cards, revealing one ten, a five and an ace. "Brat"

It had no effect. Sophia looked pretty pleased with herself, she was the first one to catch him. As the rules went Carl was able to start where he wanted.

"Two fours,"

"Two fives,"

"A six"

"one seven"

"Bullshit. pick 'em Carl" said Daryl, who held all the sevens.

Carl scrunched his face in Daryl's direction as he turned over a queen, than picked up the pile.

"Hey blame your buddy, Sophia"

" Three aces" Sophia said happily.

"Three aces, really Sophia?" Daryl was skeptical. He had one ace and after him, Carl had the next largest hand. Sophia was probably just trying to dump as many as cards as she could as she had the best chance of winning right now.

Sophia shrugged innocently.

"I call bullshit on that,"

She turned them over one at a time; one ace, one ace, and one ace. Daryl added them to his large hand over the sounds of their giggling.

" Again" said Carl when the game ended.

" Yeah," Sophia nodded enthusiastically. She had been the victor of this game.

They played bullshit until the kids were a blink away from falling asleep. They ended this day where they started it on sectional couch, while Daryl reclaimed his post.

Sophia woke up and started crying into the cushion again.

There was no harm in it. It was just extremely painful for him to listen to. Daryl was sick to death of doing nothing. All this waiting was rubbing his nerves completely raw. He thought of his truck. It was probably still at the end of the street, he could bring it over here, he was aware driving the truck was going draw them but they'd be safe in the house. His truck would be a sign to the rescue party looking for them and in the daylight once the walkers got bored, he could pack up the kids and start heading to Fort Benning, they'd eventually run into everyone else, they would not have got far. Why had this not come to him before.

Daryl shouldered his crossbow, absolutely itching to get going. He did not pop the screen out of the window and slip out until he thought Sophia had gone back to sleep. However Sophia was not asleep.

"Carl," she shook his shoulder.

Carl sat up and yawned.

"Daryl left" she broke into tears. "What are we gonna do?"

Carl climbed up on to the top of the couch. Looking out the window was pointless. It was way to dark out to see anything. Sophia was hysterical; he pulled her into a hug but did not say anything. Carl could not comfort her, as he was just as terrified as she was.

They were all alone.

The walkers were more active at night but they did not have enough brainpower to thoroughly scan the darkness that Daryl did as he rabbited around the cars and through other backyards.

One of the candles they lit when it got too dark to see their cards was still going. Carl grabbed the holder despite the uncomfortable heat.

"He'll come back." He found the confidence to say. he lead Sophia downstairs to the door. "We have to make sure he can get back in."

Daryl got to where they had stopped. There was a shipwreck of abandoned vehicles, but none of them were his. Keys. Daryl went through his pockets, all he had was the lighter. He had left the keys in it, probably right in the ignition so someone had grabbed it and took off. Overwhelming frustration boiled inside him. He took it out on a ford focus with a kick to the passenger door.

* * *

><p>It was stirred up by something fleeting, something alive. Whatever it was gone before it got to pursue. As it looked a glowing distorted orb caught its eye, and it forgot about what it was after initially. Like a moth drawn to a flame it went unwavering towards it, with such purpose that others began to follow suit. It wanted nothing but to get the light, So did the others.<p>

The front door fell away.

Screams filled its ears.

* * *

><p>Authors Note: Thank you for reading, subscribing and faving. I could not believe the amount of hits I got after the premiere and on Sunday despite that it was 2 weeks since I updated. Speaking of the new episodes, have you noticed the difference in Daryl physically? Holy New Work Out Plan, Norman Reedus.<p>

A special shout-out to all those who reviewed: Ichigo95, Lenora, Willow The Collie, Scoro, Anonymous, LarkasBlessing122291, Missy92, LobsangLudd, Kitty, Mathcamel.You all made October the month of The Walking Dead for me. Sorry about the wait. Midterms, you know.

Daryl probably should have let the kids know what he was up to. But I'm betting no one told him much when he was a kid no one told him when they were going to up and leave.

**Ichigo95** was the winner of the who-said-it challenge for the first three chapters. (You were just waiting for me to ask, weren't you)

I'll title this chapter later. I'm tired.

How did you like the walker POV?

I made boo boo on the ages of the kids before, but then so did The Walking Dead wiki page. That's the danger of writing for an ongoing series, you don't get all the details at once.

Shutting up now. Till next time.

-Delta9


	5. Run Fast, Run Far

The candle continued to burn behind the spider-cracked glass as it lay on the ground. It had slipped out of Carl's hands, or rather his sleeve as he wrapped it around the glass to protect his hands from the heat.

They snapped out their moment of shocked stillness and took off hand in hand into the dark without a thought as to where they were going. The intruding walkers followed suit in a starvation driven walk.

On his walk back, Daryl thought about how he was going to get back into the house. It is easier to climb down a roof than climbing up one. Maybe he'd be able to squeeze through one of the basement windows.

_Gggrrr _

He heard in a hair-raising, short distance behind him. Daryl slid across the hood of a broken down Charger to put a barrier between him and whatever was growling at him. No decomposing face showed its ugly mug. Daryl was pretty sure hearing things was a bad sign. But it reminded him of something sort of important: Breaking a basement window ran the risk of making an access point for geeks as well.

If he had his truck, he'd be able to jump up on the roof of it and from there get on to the garage roof. Too bad he didn't. The fruitlessness of his mission was really aggravating him as Daryl crouched next to the tire. It was not only the piss-off of coming back empty handed, reduced to doing nothing but waiting for the rescue party and God knew how long that was going to be. It was also that he had unnecessarily put himself in danger thus endangering two other lives as well.

After he was done continuing down from ten. Daryl started moving toward the house. There were less walkers in the vicinity he noticed. He didn't have to rabbit, dodge, and jump over half as many fences as he did leaving the house.

_Maybe they went chasing after a cat _Daryl thought, more like and dare he admit it hoped. He wasn't surprised when he got to the house to find that the door was ripped off the hinges.

Carl fell first. Sophia was pulled down the stairs after him. They scrambled on to their feet, and dug themselves deep into crawl space beneath the stairs, they didn't have time completely shut the small door behind them. Overhead they felt the boards shake as the walkers stumbled down. Sophia covered her mouth with her hands to keep from screaming. In the darkness they could hear the uneven breathing, the dragging of feet that gradually faded away towards the back of the basement.

Crossbow at the ready, Daryl went in. His eyes were drawn to what had pulled the walkers in, the small flickering flame. It illuminated nothing but a lone walker; it had an arrow through its skull before it even knew what hit it, that is if they had a shred of self-awareness.

No other signs of life.

Had they left the house?

From the look of the front door, it could be safely assumed that the walkers had come in that way. So Sophia and Carl wouldn't have. The back door was not only shut, it was still locked, which meant for better or worse, the kids probably hadn't left.

He fought the urge to start yelling out their names. Daryl knew from personal experience it would take more than one walker to break down that damn door.

They were unsure whether they should leave their hiding spot and try to get back upstairs, where unbeknownst to them, Daryl was looking for them. The sound of demented breathing filled their ears once more from somewhere in the adjoining room, although they couldn't tell where the walkers were but they were too close for comfort. Carl and Sophia crept out the crawl space, thinking that all the walkers were around the other side. Not all of them were.

A series of thumps killed the quiet. Daryl trained the flashlight on the place. The beam hit a trio of geeks fully in the face and they responded with displeased growls and snarls. Behind the walkers, Daryl saw the best sight, the faces of the kids.

Two more walkers came up from the basement.

Backing up into the kitchen, Daryl kept the space ratio between him and the advancing walkers the same, though putting even more distance between him and the kids.

Keys.

In the midst of all the chaos, that's what Daryl thought of. Keys, not his missing truck keys but a set with a BMW insignia he had seen hanging in the pantry. He had those keys in his hand before he was aware he had taken a step.

"Heads up" He chucked the keys across the room to the kids who were nearer to the door, Carl caught them, "get in the garage."

There was only one way out of this.

From behind the door they heard gunshots. Each shot, only three in total, was jarring but it wasn't as horrifying as the silence that followed. Their fear was short lived; Daryl came through the door before the echo of the last gunshot had fully cleared.

There were only two walkers clawing on the other side of the door for the moment. The gunfire would no doubt bring more in from the street. They were no longer safe here.

Daryl passed the backpack of supplies, more important then ever now they were taking this show on the road. It was not the dark that kept him from knowing who as he still had a flashlight; it was that his eyes were looking up at the ceiling the garage door opener, running along the track until he saw the dangling red emergency release chord. This definitely was an emergency. A quick tug on it was all it took to bypass the electric motor opener.

He was just about to pull the door up, had his hands under the seams when a small whimper made him realize that opening this door would completely expose them to everything on the street. It had to be done if they were going to get out of here but he better make sure that car was going to run first.

"Keys" Daryl snapped his fingers. It was a conditioned reflex tied to the demanding of keys, Merle use to try to be the designated drunk driver.

Carl had held on to them so tightly that they had left deep pockmarks in his palm pushed in the keys to his hand. Sophia jumped into the backseat without needing to be told, as did Carl. Daryl

"Breath into your shirts and don't even do that too much." He instructed them as the engine started up.

The noxious fumes quickly flooded the confined space much faster then he anticipated it would. He was swimming in the smoke at the back of the garage.

Normally Daryl loved the smell of exhaust fumes, right now not so much as it burned his eyes, starved him of the oxygen his fast pumping heart required and brought even more worry when he thought about what it could do to smaller, younger lungs.

The garage door clattered back on its tracks.

All the commotion had attracted no less than sixty walkers.

The Beamer practically did a burnout backing out of the garage. He left it in reverse for awhile, there was no use going back the way they came before swinging the front end around wildly in on fluid movement. As sudden as they had become in danger, they were out of it and eventually Daryl let up on the gas.

"You left," It was Sophia that broke the silence. It was the extreme timidness in the quiet phrase that kept it from being an accusation.

"I just went to see if my truck was at the end of the street. I was always going to come back." He explained. "One thing you don't have to worry about is me abandoning you, 'cause I promise I won't."

"C'mon, I can't go back without y'all" he added. "It'd be more painless to walk into some geeks, than walk into your families without you."

On that note there was something else Daryl had to tell them that was long over due.

"We're going to find your parents. "

That little bit of reassurance went more miles than Daryl would ever know.

"Are you wearing your seatbelt?" asked Carl.

Sophia reached over her shoulder inconspicuously. The small _click _of the buckle gave her away.

"Well, you truly are a cop's kid ain't ya," responded Daryl.

"Are you?" Carl asked again, as that did not answer the question.

"Nope"

"You should"

"We're only doin' thirty"

"So?"

"We're not going that fast"

" Still why not wear it? And you can't say because we're not going fast."

Daryl could tell that Carl was not going to let it go.

"There," he threw his seatbelt on "ya happy?"

They cruised around the town, looking for interstate signs that would put them back on the same path as the others. All Daryl had was the daytime running lights on to illuminate the road ahead. He had thought it was the safest bet, not attracting any attention, but when the road curved it prevented him from seeing a concrete barrier dead ahead until a collision was unavoidable.

Daryl wrenched the steering wheel to the right, the left side of the car climbed up on the barrier.

The world flipped. The noise was deafening. The worst and most defined was the sound of the rag top tearing.

He hadn't blacked out. It had all happened so fast that he couldn't process it but he hadn't blacked out.

"Carl. Sophia."

"I'm ok," Carl answered.

"Me too" Sophia said.

Despite the fact that there could be walkers in area, the first thing Daryl did when they crawled out of the car was shine a light on the kids. They were shaken but ultimately unscathed.

The car was totaled. It was a miracle that none of them of them were hurt.

The moonlight

"Remember what I said. I said we're going to find your parents. " Daryl reaffirmed them. "We're too misplaced now to count on them findin' us. "

He paused, thinking about what to say next. For some reason he remembered what Rick had said when they had gone back to Atlanta to get Merle.

"The only way we are going to get through this is if we keep a level head." He looked at each of them.

They nodded.

They started down the road, looking for a safe place to wait out the dark.

"It's a good thing we were wearing our seatbelts," muttered Carl.

"That was your one I-Told-You-So, you say anything more about it and I swear I will tell your mother about the cream of mushroom soup," retorted Daryl.

Perhaps the joking was just the shock of coming out of everything that had happened tonight alive. Or perhaps it was too keeps things as light as they could be because they had a long way to go.

Author's Note:

Near carbon monoxide poisoning and a car accident, you're doing a bang up job of looking after them, Daryl.

Name Chapter Title Challenge

This chapter's title is tricky. Its not from The Walking Dead, but it was said by one of the cast members when he guest starred very briefly on a popular sitcom. I'll give you a hint: this geek was one of the first survivors Rick meets.

Character or Actor name accepted. Extra points of awesomeness if you can name the sitcom.

LOVE and Thanks to everyone who filled my inbox with happiness: immortalrmy, LobsangLudd, Missy92, Ichigo95, (did you see that 3rd paragraph. That was for you!) 

Chimera64, lenora, Lightchild12, echozgreen, elfgurl1404,antiheroine, Mathcamel, Melissa.

A good number of you remarked on how I've got the characters down pat, you have no idea how important that

-Delta9.

P.S Was there a _Dukes Of Hazzard _reference in here. You bet'cha


	6. Losing Their Little Ones

Rick pumped the brake, signaling the stop of the convoy. The car hadn't even come to a full stop when Lori flung the door opened and ran out.

"Carl!" he heard her yell. "Carl!"

Before he stepped out of the car, Rick checked the rounds in his python; there were three bullets in the clip. He wasn't worried. Then he saw Lori, illuminated by the headlights of the Winnebago, kneeling on the ground.

"He's gone, oh God he's gone. He's gone," Lori cried between gasping breaths.

Carol was crying something along the same lines in the background or to what could've been another plane of existence to Rick as everything stopped feeling real.

"Hey," Glenn piped up, being the first one to interrupt the grieving parents "uh Daryl's gone too. Carl and Sophia, they're probably with him."

* * *

><p>It turned out they didn't have long to wait before the sun started to rise. The lighter it got, the less inclined Daryl felt about finding a place to rest. They may as well cover as much ground as they possible could while they had the sun. He had told Carl and Sophia the bare minimum when he said they were misplaced, he didn't want to scare them anymore than they already were.<p>

The detour they had took to avoid the walkers and navigate around blockades, (with the exception of the last one) had taken them a far distance away from where they'd been, not to mention off track. Their saving grace was that Daryl had an incredible sense of direction. He figured out the rest of groups heading and got them aimed on that same path.

In another lifetime the street they walked along was once a commercial area populated by specialty shops and pretentious bouquets. It would hopefully lead back to the interstate or at the very least get them to the outskirts of town where they were less likely to run in to any sort of overwhelming number of walkers.

Carl and Sophia had started off strong, but had gradually begun to lag behind. Now they were a vulnerable twenty yards behind him. Daryl couldn't have his attention divided between the road ahead and what was going on behind him, he'd end up missing something and in this world that'd be fatal.

"Pick up the pace" Daryl called back, while he stopped to wait for them to catch up.

"He sounds like my old gym teacher." Said Carl, "She-man."

"What?" Sophia asked, giggling.

"Ms. Braden, she looked like a lady but she had a really gruff voice," explained Carl, lowering his to mimic "and thick arms."

That was what she liked the best about Carl, no matter what was going on he could always think of something nice to talk about whereas Sophia had been making a list of things she was afraid of: Walkers. Never seeing her mom again. Becoming separated from this sub group but at the same time, Daryl. Hospitals and spiders.

This was the most updated list of her fears. Daryl had slipped down from his original spot at number two after their card game.

A blurry figure caught the corner of Carl's eye as it ran around the other side of a dumpster.

" Stop" he whispered to Sophia.

It was just a mangy dog. It stared at them for a minute before it wandered away.

While he didn't express it, Carl was getting real sick of living on the edge. Jumping at every shadow and freezing at any movement, it was exhausting.

"Do ya need a rest?" asked Daryl, when they joined him, both looking on the ragged edge.

It was first thing in the morning. This did not bode well for the rest of the day.

" I'm sorta hungry," said Carl.

Sophia's eyes said the same thing.

Daryl just about did an honest-to-God face palm. Hadn't he learned anything the other day?

One thing he did know was that they should not park themselves right here for a rest. If any walkers came up them, the kids didn't look like they would be able to move too fast.

A rooftop would be great. He surveyed the roofs of the shops. There would be a low to zero chance of encountering any geeks and he could get a better look at the area.

"So much for break" grumbled Carl as Daryl seemingly forgot about breakfast and kept on.

Sophia shrugged tiredly in response. They followed after Daryl. What else could they do?

There was two possible ways of getting up on a roof; one was to step up on to a, to a unstable vertical wooden crate, then get a footing on the window ledge and from there haul themselves up on the roof.

The other option was climbing up the chain link fence that walled the gap between shops. The major problem was the barbed wire running across the top, that was of course to keep people from getting up on to the roof.

" We'll climb up here," Daryl shouldered the crossbow and climbed up. "I'll hold the barb wire down, so you don't get scratched ta shit"

They exchanged surprised looks. Going up on the roof was news to them. Wasn't this just the adventure?

Sophia climbed up beside him. She had an easier time with it as her feet were smaller and could get a better toehold.

His strategy wasn't so much a strategy as it was an idea. The coiled barbed wire wouldn't go down without a fight, he eventually got some of it to lay flat but it didn't spread down enough for Sophia to step up on the top bar of the fence.

He reached around Sophia and moved in behind her, decreasing the meter of wire he had to grapple with. The decrease in personal space made Sophia pretty uncomfortable.

Sophia carefully placed her hands in between the barbs. Daryl's "scratched ta shit" comment had struck a chord and she was very mindful about her movements. She progressed slowly to crouching on the top. Sophia was calculating her next move, reaching up to the roof without falling or stepping on Daryl's hand when a walker in a Starbucks smock started snapping at them from the other side of the fence.

" It can't get you." Daryl reassured her.

What the walker could get was bit of Daryl's pant leg and it tried feasting on that. He tried to shake it off with as little movement as possible. The fence gave a violent buck that almost sent Sophia over to the other side as Daryl got fed up and kicked the walker in the face.

"How'd that taste? "

Carl had been waiting to climb up but the ex-coffee mogul that Daryl had thoroughly pissed off, put an end his patience and he too saw the second option.

She grabbed the ledge and stepped up on to the roof, under her foot she was sure she felt Daryl's hand. She turned to apologize but Daryl had already dismounted the fence.

Carl was almost up at the window ledge when Daryl got over to him. His foot slipped on the last rung of the improvised crate ladder. They were only going up two, maybe three-storey's so not deathly high, only concussion high. Daryl instinctively grabbed him.

"I can do it," protested Carl.

Daryl respected his wishes and didn't try to help again, which was hard when he kept thinking: _He's going to fall. He's going to fall. He's going to fall and crack his skull. _

Carl made up on his own, with the backpack no less.

Starbucks walker was still snarling at the fence, since that was all it could do Daryl didn't feel the need to get rid of it. It did get kicked in the head again when he climbed up.

The roof was slightly slanted, they sat at the back under the second tier, out of the sun. Breakfast was composed of nature valley granola bars. They couldn't get sick from that could they?

"Neither of you are allergic to anything, are ya?" Daryl asked.

Maybe a bit late but he figured after living with them in camp for a couple of weeks, food allergies would be something that would've come up before now.

"No." said Sophia, with the answer he expected.

"Peanuts" answered Carl, with the absolute worst answer.

Daryl almost choked on the bit of granola bar in his mouth, which was easy sixty percent peanut as was Carl's. His mind flooded with everything he knew about epi-pens to the time rate the boy's throat was going to close up.

"Just kidding" said Carl.

"Not funny" Daryl took a light swipe at his head, which Carl dodged. "Can you purposely not give me grey hairs?"

"How old are you?" asked Carl

"Too young to be goin' grey."

"If you say so"

"What do you mean by that"

"You're pretty old." Carl looked him straight in the eye, baiting Daryl to reveal his age.

"Yeah well, you're short."

"I'm going to grow. You're not getting any younger."

_Sharp kid _Daryl thought. That ended that.

While they rested up, Daryl scoped, literally using the scope on the crossbow, out the road ahead.

"Not much out there, a few walkers hanging out in the parking lot of that McDonalds. We can avoid 'em"

Carl blocked out the sun with his hand and squinted.

"Here" Daryl passed him the crossbow.

Once Carl got use to the weight, he pointed it at the large McDonalds M. When he had gotten a good look, he held it in place for Sophia to see. A few to them meant three to six. Apparently Daryl's definition of a few was a number over ten but less than twenty. It wasn't a few; it was a gaggle of geeks.

"We'll keep on this road a little longer, instead of going left up by that overpass. We hook to the right of it, and circle around. We'll completely miss them," explained Daryl.

His plan would be the long way around for sure

"How do you know the Interstate is over there?" asked Carl.

" 'Cause of all the fast food places clustered together. There's gotta be a exit close by"

Sitting on the roof like this reminded Sophia of her own past life.

" Last Independence Day, I watched the fireworks on the roof of our house," she shared.

"Your mom let you?" asked Carl.

" No she said I couldn't, but she wasn't home. She was at the hospital." Her voice grew quiet at the end.

Carl responded to that with an expression of troubled curiosity. Whereas Daryl looked at the somber little girl hugging her knees and felt sharp twinge of understanding in his stomach. He tore his gaze away from Sophia, back to the street. They should get a move on.

" Ah Christ, Starbucks brought a friend"

Carl and Sophia peered over the edge to see a second walker clawing at the side of the building,

"Let's name him Seamus," said Carl

"Yeah he looks like a Seamus," Sophia agreed, noting the scarf, filthy, tattered V-neck and mustache on the whole portion of what was now called Seamus' face.

They had gone from freaking out over walkers to naming them.

"You're weird." Daryl informed them.

* * *

><p>It was obnoxiously still, nothing but the sound of grasshoppers and the tapping of her finger on the plastic table. Lori finished the last of her blueberry tea. The sound of the empty cup hitting the table seemed to echo.<p>

"I'll wash them," Carol said, taking Lori's cup with her own.

Carol could not keep still. She had been exceptionally fidgety today and Lori wanted to hit her. Lori, herself was completely paralyzed, any task was beyond her capability.

_How could I leave my baby? _ The thought pulled apart her heart.

But as annoying as Carol's restlessness was Lori couldn't leave her side. While each mother was dealing with this painful turn of events differently. They felt exactly the same and because of that they needed each other for support, even if they passed the day in silence.

Glenn and T-Dog came back in to camp. Both wearing the same apologetic expressions when the mothers caught their eyes.

Lori stared out at the horizon until the second search party; Rick and Shane came back just as empty handed. Then she was staring into the small campfire and before she knew it or could register it, she was staring at the canvas roof of the tent.

"I got know how much of that neighborhood has been searched," she asked.

"We covered all of it today" Rick answered "we're thinking Daryl may have left that neighborhood, taken them some place not so populated with walkers. Where they'd be safer."

"How can you be so sure they're with Daryl?" Lori asked, "given what happened with his brother, why would he look after them?"

"I can't answer why but I know he will."

There was a pause, before she opened her mouth to question her husband's faith, he answered.

"When Glenn got taken hostage, I told Daryl and T-Dog, that they should leave. I owed my life to Glenn, they didn't. Daryl was skeptical of the whole thing but he still picked up a gun. Despite the fact that I handcuffed Merle in the first place, he wasn't going to let me walk into that fight alone. Daryl won't leave Carl and Sophia. "

* * *

><p>A high-pitched shriek hit the air.<p>

Daryl bolted around the emptied shelves, un-slinging the cross bow from his shoulder and nearly tripping right over Carl who was also rushing to Sophia's side.

Sophia was cringing at the back of the gas station.

There wasn't a walker in sight.

"What is it?"

"Um… a bee" Sophia avoided eye contact and looked down at the ground,

" A bee" Daryl shook his head, lowering the crossbow "Sophia, scream like that again, there best be a walker because if there ain't, I'm going to make you wish there was one."

"Yes sir" she stammered.

Daryl had reclaimed his number two spot.

They found little in the gas station and continued on the planned path, which had taken them a longer route around than it had shown to be on the rooftop.

The sun was hanging dangerously low now. A few more drops and it was going to be dark. They needed to find a place to spend the night fast. Much faster then the kids were moving now.

It was either their jumpy looks or it was just because he was thinking about hunting the other morning, that Daryl recalled the time he had just about stepped on a fawn hidden in some undergrowth. Whatever caused the memory didn't really matter. It gave him an idea.

If he could find someplace safe to hid Sophia and Carl, he'd be able to move much quicker

"You two ever wanted to check out the back of a ambulance," Daryl asked, spotting one a yard away.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: A Hipster Zombie (Seamus), yeah I went there but it's my birthday, I can drink everywhere now.<p>

**Alakari** (formerly Anonymous) won the challenge! It was Steven Yeun aka Glenn when he was on The Big Bang Theory as Sheldon's roommate before Leonard. She got that it was The Big Bang Theory too

Thank you's to all that reviewed: Alakari, Melissa, Mathcamel, Lenora, Missy92, LobsangLudd, Jen, Jay, Pinky-Keane, Cotton Strings, SpringsteensGirl. 

Lastly in case your wondering I did see the mid-season finale. I cried


	7. C'mon People What The Hell

Disclaimer: I do not own these three wonderful characters. Also I borrowed some quotes from the youtube video _Marcel the Shell with two shoes on 2. _Its adorable for those who haven't seen it, go watch it after you read this.

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><p>As all roads were now, this one was packed with vehicles. Bodies, decaying bodies in some, others were lying right out in the road. There was little left of those ones. He stepped over an outstretched skeleton, its jaw unhinged with its eternal last scream.<p>

Using the parental wisdom of deer, Daryl carried on alone. Like the game animal, his senses were heightened in the waning dusk, on alert for any predators. However hunted he may be, Daryl was no game animal.

It appeared from nowhere; a gaping, bloody socket where one eye use to be. The one remaining yellow eye locked on to him with the only spark it could display; hunger.

Daryl's pace had definitely quickened. Losing a bit of caution to anxiety, just a tad.

One had turned in to two, two to five. The walkers sprouted up for every possible place. Those were just the ones he could see. Fingers curled the back of his collar, instantly he pulled out of them, right into the reaching hands of another walker. This one was strong and wasted no time. Its teeth sunk into his collarbone, stripping the tendons off the bones like a chicken wing.

Carl jolted awake. The back of his neck was damp with sweat, but intact.

They didn't get a break from the heat, as the back of the ambulance was stifling. But it was enough to put their feet, and not have to worry about what could be around every single corner. The warmth and security had weighed heavy on their eyes and within minutes of stretching out on the gurney, they had both fallen asleep.

Carl's jarring movement woke up Sophia nestled beside him.

"Have another nightmare?" she murmured.

He had told her all about the nightmares he had been having lately. They told each other everything.

"Yeah"

Sophia could see the pained light in his eyes as Carl tried to push the reverberating images of the walkers from his mind. Walkers, always about walkers.

"Daryl may have run into our parents. You said so yourself that they'd be looking all over for us and if we're on the same road as them, it's possible that we could be home for dinner." Sophia sat up and put her arms around him.

Carl looked over at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Well a late dinner." She added, much to her delight, Carl smiled a little. "For now, we're safe in here. Nothing can get us."

Her fingers ran through his hair over and over again and even though his head was ill supported by her Sophia's shoulder, the scalp massage just about put Carl back to sleep. On her immobile hand, a splotch of red as vibrant as the blood in his nightmare caught his eye.

"What happened?" Carl grabbed her by the wrist and turned it slightly to see it. Right under her pinkie finger, there was bump, like bad bug bite.

"I got stung"

"You should tell Daryl when he gets back"

"Why? He can't do anything. It'll get better on its own."

"How do you know he can't do anything? Doesn't it hurt?"

He knew that Sophia was afraid of Daryl and would be steering clear of him as best she could. But if she was hurt, and that welt definitely looked like it did, she was going to push past those feelings before it got worse.

"Yeah it hurts. But you can't do anything about it. I've been stung lot's before. The swelling just takes a while to go down is all."

"I've never been stung before. Is it like gettin' bit by a horsefly?"

"Sorta. That burning feeling lasts longer."

"Would putting a band aid on it help?" Carl glanced over the thousands of compartments.

"Maybe. It would keep everything from touching it"

They rummaged around the drawers and shelves, finding more than enough band-aids in all shapes and sizes. Beside the ordinary ones, there were teeny round ones, some larger flexible rectangular ones, (those ones were perfect for the side of her hand) and huge ones. Sophia found it a little chilling; it was sort of like a hospital but her curiosity got the better of her and she kept poking around with Carl. They didn't know what over half of the stuff was for.

"Take a deep breath" Sophia held a stethoscope up to his chest, "I don't hear it. Are you vampire?"

Carl fought a smile back and nodded.

He held an eye looky thing up to her eye while he peered in the larger end. Through it he could every single detail of her eye, millions of little threads all interwoven. His finger hit the button for the light

"I was attacked." Said Sophia, blinking in response to the sudden light.

"By what?"

"By a dog, it was huge."

"Did it walk on two legs?" Carl asked, putting on a feigned expression of alarm.

"Yes it did," answered Sophia, with her own fake how-did-you-know look that could've been taken straight out of a _Days Of Our Lives_.

Carl eased her down on the stretcher. Her arm was so thin that he had to wrap the huge band-aid around a couple of times to make it stay on. He grabbed oxygen mask and secured the elastic band around the back of her head.

"You were attacked by a werewolf. Your heart is going to grow and will need more air then you can breath in," he explained.

Imaginative Carl sat down in the drivers seat. He found a paramedics vest hanging on the back, he put it on and then he "drove" to the hospital. He didn't touch any of the buttons or switches in case there was still power and he set off the siren. As fun as that would be, it would attract walkers.

Sophia joined him up front after a while, the plastic smell of the oxygen mask began to have a huge . The waning light from the windshield view put an end to their lighthearted play. The big what ifs started to form again.

Wordlessly Carl retrieved the backpack from the back and brought it up to the front.

"Snack time," he threw a plastic bag of assorted five cent candies in her lap.

Sophia's surprised smile developed into a smirk. She pulled out four packets of fun dip from her pockets.

"We'll have to keep this a secret or we'll only be able to allowed to eat half." Carl tucked two of them in to the well-hidden pouch. "I don't think that he has any experience with this kind of stuff"

"Ya think," Sophia agreed.

"Do you think there are doctors and scientist out there somewhere working on a cure?' Sophia asked.

"I don't know. Probably."

"Do you think there could be a cure to turn them back? Like Starbucks and Seamus, do you think they could go back to normal?"

"No. They're dead. Nothing can fix them"

She felt her stomach drop. Sophia couldn't fully explain why but this morning when she took a last look at the two walkers moaning and groaning behind the fence because they could do nothing else; could not speak or think. She looked into their dead eyes and she didn't feel afraid of them, they were too sad to fear. Sophia only felt sorry for them.

"You said your dad was dead." She weakly countered.

" That was different. He wasn't really dead."

The latch on the back door gave a very loud click. Neither of them ever thought they would be so happy to see Daryl Dixon.

"There's a um IKEA down the ways. It's a bit far but it's the safest bet."

The gauze on Sophia's arm did not go unnoticed, without considering how she might feel about it Daryl grabbed her arm. Sophia didn't jerk away, she did move her hand behind her back in case he noticed the other bandage. Carl noticed the action. He gave her a disapproving look. Sophia responded with a don't say a word stare. Carl did not get it, because in Carl's world he could trust adults.

"What happened here?" asked Daryl:

"She got bit - " Daryl stopped listening to Carl for a second as that first part echoed, thankfully Carl finished the sentence with "- by a werewolf"

Daryl let her go with roll of his eyes.

Either their little power nap had gone a long way or Daryl had slowed dramatically. The latter was looking for to be the case as not even five meters Daryl was the one to fall behind. Carl had taken up the slack and was keeping a sharp eye out for anything, the fact that it was now dark made all the more necessary but way harder.

" How much further?" Asked Carl. They actually stopped to let him catch up.

" Not much. " He panted. "See that intersection with the downed lights, its just 'round that corner. "

As Carl now had their target he was moving faster, he wanted to get off the street ASAP. Sophia wanted to get off the street just as bad, but as it wasn't long before they were ahead of Daryl again, her pace had slowed as she was always looking over shoulder. More than a few times she caught sight of Daryl doubled over. This was not good.

"Ah geez. I gotta sit…sit down – for a minute," Daryl eased himself down slowly. His head was spinning; the last few steps nearly landed him facedown on the asphalt.

Carl continued to be the lookout; he dug a flashlight out of the backpack. He didn't turn it on but had his finger on the switch, ready to throw light on anything that moved. Sophia sat down near Daryl or as near she dared.

This had moved beyond not good. This was bad. While Daryl may not have much experience as Carl put it, he sure could protect them. In his current state, he could hardly lift the crossbow; his face was red, he sounded like he was about to have a heart attack and he was clutching his side.

"Just a damn stitch" he told Sophia who was trying to look under his hand for a bloodstain.

Sophia was starting to see what the problem was. They had had a break. He hadn't.

He didn't notice her leave his side so also he didn't notice when she returned.

"Um Daryl," she said meekly to get his attention.

He raised his head and opened his eyes, he was staring straight at a bottle of Gatorade.

"Here. You should drink something."

The fluorescent green liquid rippled as Daryl's hand was shaking when he took it. This might just be very bad.

It felt like the elixir of life going down his throat. The dizziness, the stitch, and the rapid breathing, he was wreck. Now guzzling down the juice, he now knew why he was such a wreck. Daryl was dehydrated.

This was unlike him. Daryl had always been able to take care of himself, been doing it since he could walk. He had been so preoccupied with looking after these two that he hadn't been thinking about himself. Now look at what was happening; they were taking care of him. It was time to pull his head out of his ass. No more running unnecessary risks and no more ignoring his needs.

"Thanks, Sophia" his breathing was less labored, "what about you? How ya doing?"

" I'm good."

"How 'bout him?" He nodded towards the on guard Carl.

"He's good too."

"Well that's somethin', ain't it?"

After everything that they had been through, who would've had money that he'd be the one to near pass out?

There had only been one walker when Daryl checked out the building before, he hadn't done a thorough check, which now he regretted. There was no way they would be that lucky. As the two flashlights moved slowly around the perimeter, it appeared that they were that lucky.

"I think I got lost in IKEA once" said Carl.

"I got lost in a Wal-Mart" inputted Sophia

" So should I be putting you both on leashes?" asked Daryl.

"Didn't you ever get lost when you were a kid?" asked Carl.

"Yeah, more than a few times. But in the woods, not in store."

Daryl nudged the swinging door to backroom, open with his foot and shone the light through the crack, nothing, except a soft red glow. It was shock to see light that wasn't coming from flashlights. He hadn't planned to go in if there was nothing but Daryl had to see where the light was coming from.

It was from an exit sign. The door it was referring to was jammed open by an arm. Carl fixed his flashlight on the door as Daryl pushed open the door and grabbed the arm, holding his knife in his other hand prepared to deal with what the arm was attached to.

Turns out the arm wasn't attached to anything, it flipped out the door extremely easily. There was nothing out there at all.

"C'mere," he waved them over, neither wanted to go but they peeked out the door. "Remember this. If something happens, and we get separated, y'all come out this way, and hid over in that car wash. But only if you can, if you think that'll get you cornered go somewhere nearby and I'll come find ya"

As frightening as thinking about walkers swarming them for the third time was, it reassuring to have an escape plan for once.

The investigation of how there was still a light on led him to a fuse box.

"Anything?" Daryl flipped one of the switches.

"Nope" Carl answered.

"How 'bout now?" he move to the switch above it.

"Nope."

The next one

"Nope"

The next one

"Nope"

The next, next, and the next one. Then Carl change his tune:

" Yeah"

It wasn't much. The few lights that weren't burnt out were dim but it was way better than no light at all. Still they used the flashlights to continue scoping out the rest of the store.

The front of the store was the worry. There was not a way to board up all the glass. What they could do was make sure they heard if any walkers came in.

They, or rather Daryl moved shopping carts along the windows and doors, Sophia and Carl were having a shopping cart derby. The _crack _of the carts when bashed into each other was a guarantee if anything came in, they would know.

With the place secure as could be. The item on the agenda was to get them something to eat. The IKEA had a real kitchen where they used to serve food for the hungry shoppers that were forced to walk through the labyrinth. The problem was not that there was no power in that kitchen. It was the smell. Daryl looked in there briefly, very briefly. Whatever was in there had been very dead for a good long while.

" 'Kay, we'll just make a fire out here and cook up some rice." He said.

Before they could ask how. Daryl smashed a little wooden table on the floor and put the pieces in a trashcan. The finish on the wood wouldn't let it burn worth a crap.

"Hey Carl, I need the back pack."

They may not have lighter fluid, but he had something that'd work. He poured a capful of the whiskey on to the wood. They were captivated by his resourcefulness. Carl was a little too captivated, Daryl moved him back before he dropped the match in or Carl would've lost his eyebrows.

If soup cooked on the barbeque was Australian soup, than rice cooked over a trashcan was hobo rice or so Carl and Sophia decided.

"Where do you want to eat Sophia? " asked Carl, looking around at a thousand different tables.

"Can I see the flashlight?" she asked.

Carl threw her his flash light, she caught it with her injured hand and winced. Sophia wandered around the mock dining room displays.

"Would you just tell him?" whispered Carl.

" No." she answered stubbornly.

By the time the rice was ready, Sophia had picked a modern themed dining area. The table was already set with plates that matched the décor. They did find some candles in a cabinet. They put them in first pouch of the backpack didn't need them any on the table when Sophia had set the flashlight in the chandler.

"We got to say grace," Carl said before they so much as picked up a fork, knowing Daryl and Sophia had forgotten. "Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord. Amen."

" Amen" repeated Sophia.

"Amen. I think my Gran use to say that one." Said Daryl.

"Was she Christian?" Carl asked.

"Yup, well Pentecostal."

"Don't they believe that world is going to end?" Asked Sophia, the name sounded familiar.

" Not sure if they all do but she certainly did. I got the whole hell fire rapture spiel a thousand times. My Gran was completely insane, she had dementia and also thought the Cold War was still on. Every time she babysat me, I ended up gettin' locked in her basement 'cause she thought the Soviets were attacking. "

They both giggled in between mouthfuls of rice.

"Sure, its funny when you're not the one spending a whole Saturday afternoon in a basement."

_Don't they believe the world is going to end?_

The habitual future tense of Sophia's question stayed after the conversation ended. Every one of them was thinking it but no one said it but; hadn't the world ended? Weren't the walkers a metaphorical hell fires that were ravaging everything?

The damper to the mood did not affect anyone's appetite as they ended up tying into another pack of rice.

"Sophia got stung by a bee," Carl blurted, seeing her pained expression as she put down her fork, which was then replaced with a relatively nasty look. Daryl just about asked why didn't you say something. But quickly remembered that he had sort of yelled at her.

"Well now I feel like a jerk." He muttered instead.

Sophia's face basically said yeah you should.

" There ain't much I can do about it –"

Sophia threw a severe told-you-so look at Carl.

"- But can I take a look?" Daryl asked her.

She was afraid he was going to say that. Sophia gave him a wary look before peeling the band-aid back.

"Right there," she pointed needlessly to the large, red bump.

"Have you ever been stung before?" Daryl leaned forward.

"She's been stung lots," Carl answered for her, slightly snarky.

"What're you doing to piss off bees?" asked Daryl.

"I'm not. Their evil" Sophia answered.

He took the flashlight out the chandler and held it closer to her hand. In the side of the welt there was a fleck of black, the whole reason that he had wanted to look in the first place.

"The stinger's still in there. Once I get it out, this mess will start going down. Carl, can you hold the flashlight?"

Carl took the flashlight, happy to be able to help with something.

Daryl rested Sophia's hand in his. Sophia didn't normally have cold hands but Daryl's hand was so warm that hers seemed cold.

Having been in her hand for awhile, the stinger was deeply embedded. Despite how hard he pinched her, Sophia sat perfectly still. She did whimper when he got carried away and forgot that there was a person attached to this hand.

"Sorry, it's almost out," lied Daryl.

He had taken away some skin but was not closer to the stinger. He needed a sharp tip to nudge the end up so more so he could get a grasp on the end sticking out. Daryl reached for his bowie knife.

_Hold up there Rambo. You want to take an eight-inch, bone-sawing knife to this little girl's hand? _He thought.

He went back to trying to pinch it out.

"Got 'er" He finally pulled out the stinger.

"Thanks," said Sophia.

Daryl simply nodded.

She went to put the old band-aid back on, Carl passed her a new one. Even though he told Daryl, it was all over now, no hard feelings.

The bedroom section was all the way at the back of the store. It had been tempting to just crash on the couches in living room section when they passed by. Once they made it there, the journey was worth it once he was able to un-shouldered the crossbow and lie on the first bed he saw.

The beds were spaced exactly like a hotel room, only there was way more beds. Being kids, Carl and Sophia absolutely had to jump from bed to bed.

_Thunk_

Giggling.

_Thunk_

More giggling,

"What are you doing?" asked Daryl.

"Nothing" said Carl.

"Don't sound like nothin', now settle down and go to sleep."

Shouldn't they be as tired as he was?

_Thunk._

Sophia leapt over on to the bed adjacent from where she had been. She wasn't going to be over there by herself.

" 'ey, what did I just say?"

"You know what I use for a bed?" Sophia said, or at least he guessed it was Sophia. She was using a light, raspy voice in place of her normal one for some reason or another.

"What?"

"A piece of bread"

Carl laughed.

"I went to a hotel once and guess what the bed was made out of? A muffin"

"Was it a fancy hotel?" asked Carl.

"Yeah but we split the cost of the room and we actually slept eight to the muffin"

_Dear lord, were they smokin' something when I had my back turned _Daryl thought. He knew that they didn't exactly speak the same language but he had no clue what language they were speaking.

"Sssssshh." Interrupted Daryl.

"Yeah Sophia ssssshhhhh"

"Carl," he said tiredly. " I'm gonna get real unpleasant, real fast."

"You're unpleasant now," Carl whispered.

Sophia choked back her laughter. Thankfully Daryl did not hear that. He did hear Carl jump to another bed.

"I got a question for ya. Do you know how you get chickens to calm down?"

"How?"

"You string up by their feet. Don't tempt me to see if that works on children."

"Hey, Sophia, guess what?"

"What?" Her voice had gotten stuck in Marcel the Shell.

"Chicken butt."

Well that threat failed miserably as they both burst out laughing.

"Go to sleep or I'm gonna separate you, " Daryl threatened.

Normally he meant every threat he made. That one was completely empty. For one the bed was way too comfortable, he couldn't get up to carry out the threat. Secondly he didn't have the heart to separate them. They had been through enough and he knew that they were of way more comfort to each other than he could be.

They wouldn't know that it was empty threat though.

They were so full of energy that lying still was painful. Carl dropped down on the far side of the bed; Sophia crawled down at bottom of hers and joined him on the floor. Thus a new game spawned out of the necessity to be silent, they'd sneak around the area and see how far they could get. If Daryl yelled at you, you had to go back to the start.

Round one ended in a tie when they bonked heads in the dark and in their hyper state couldn't help but laugh.

Round two began right after.

Sophia had snuck down about three beds. Carl went the opposite way. He crawled right under Daryl's bed,

"What the hell are ya doing?"

"I was checking under the beds for monsters," answered Carl. "It's all clear."

"Good to know." Daryl said into the pillow.

Round three was a quick round that ended when Sophia bumped into a nightstand and its legs made a grating noise on the tile floor.

"Get" Daryl snapped his fingers and pointed at one of beds.

By round four, they were out of the junior league and had reached a professional sneaking level.

Not really. Contrary to popular belief, Carl and Sophia were not as quiet as they thought they were being, nowhere near it. Daryl was completely aware that they were still running around, i.e. not listening. Let them tire themselves out.

Since he was ignoring them or to them he was asleep. They grew a little bolder and ventured a ways a way. There was less noise now but he couldn't sleep with them that far away. Despite protest from his back, Daryl got up.

Fine, if they wanted to play games, he'd play games.

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><p>Authors Note: How many of you did I freak out at the beginning? (To those who are still reading this and didn't close the page when you thought I killed Daryl)<p>

Thank you guys for reviewing: Melissa, Missy92, basserandstuff, but-the-clouds, Lenora, doglver228, elfgurl1404, Jay. 

I got a bit of favor to ask you. After hearing that I wasn't the only crying, I became real curious about episodes that didn't make us cry. I really really want to know **what is your favorite episode of The Walking Dead** (ok maybe it did make you cry). So go to my profile by clicking on _Delta 9 _up by the picture of comic Sophia and **vote** for your favorite. Mine is Vatos

Sophia feeling sorry for some walkers, true story actually. I've been reading the comics and in #4(that's how far I am so I can't discuss much) Sophia and Carl are looking out at some walkers and Sophia says she feels sorry for them.


	8. Tuckered Out

I think I speak for all of us when I say that February is too far way.

(my hits were weirdly high on sunday.)

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><p>They wandered in between the mock bedrooms and in that category furniture. He tailed their movement, if not with a movement of his own than with a watchful gaze, ready to strike as soon as it was right.<p>

It felt weird stalking something without his crossbow. Daryl had left it behind because there wasn't much point to carrying it and he couldn't have it on his back after acquiring some bruises from swinging it carelessly over his shoulder a couple of times today. Besides it wasn't like he was going to take out what he was stalking, just put it back to bed.

Daryl was pressed up against a fake wall when Sophia moved out in to the open, and more importantly away from Carl. As his hunter instincts dictated he go after them one at a time, it presented the perfect opportunity.

In one fluid movement he clapped a hand over Sophia's mouth, grabbed her around the middle and pulled her back. He didn't mean to yank her right off her feet but Sophia turned out to be more of a lightweight than he anticipated and that's what ended up happening.

"sssshhh, just me" he uncovered her mouth after of course setting her down. "Sorry 'bout that. You ok?"

She nodded rapidly. Behind her startled expression he swore there was that dirty look similar to the one at dinner that said _Daryl Dixon, you're a jerk!_

He pulled her over to the other side of the aisle and they ducked down beside a dresser.

_Crap, now I'm in for it. _Thought Sophia.

Daryl didn't yell at her though. Actually he said and did nothing at all, they just hid behind the dresser.

"Sophia" They heard Carl whisper nearby. "Sophia."

Daryl looked over at her and mouthed a very clear _no, _in the very off chance that she had any ideas of being a rebel. They watched him walk slowly by them once, then turn and go back the other direction.

"Keep it parked." He ordered quietly.

Daryl snuck across aisle way again, maintaining a five-step distance behind Carl until he disappeared around the corner. He sidestepped around to the next section; infants and children's bedrooms, instantly he saw Carl standing out in the middle of the furniture and he quickly got right down on his stomach. There was less furniture cover for him here, it was all a bit small for him to hide behind.

"Sophia," called Carl a little louder this time.

He kept trying to tell himself that there were no walkers in the building, they had checked. But his rational fear of being alone was making that rational logic seem less comforting.

Daryl could tell he was starting to get panicky, Carl was constantly looking over his shoulder and was moving way faster. If Sophia was the one still running around, Daryl probably would've put an end to this but then Sophia hadn't purposely freaked him out today.

Carl retraced his step, Sophia probably gone back to bed. Daryl didn't even try to come around corner undetected. Carl would've run into Sophia and the whole jig would be up. Hopefully they'd go to sleep now. However Carl had completely disappeared. Obediently Sophia was still sitting where he left her.

"Where is he?" he asked.

Sophia looked up at him and shrugged. A little untrusting of her answer, Daryl scanned the area. If he had taken a harder look at Sophia, he would've seen she was trying very hard not to smile. Daryl squinted into the darkness, maybe Carl had gone left instead of right.

She waited until she was fairly sure Daryl had gone a ways off before lifting the top of the wooden chest where Carl was uncomfortably hunkered down. He climbed out of the heavy smelling box.

"Where'd he go?'

" That way" Sophia pointed in the direction Daryl had gone.

Carl went in the same direction she pointed. Sophia followed after him, Daryl's park it order had expired.

Though the rules were no longer clear as the hunter had become the hunted, the game was even more exciting now that they had gotten Daryl up.

Daryl walked past where they had been not sleeping and turned around. If Carl hadn't come this way, he was back with Sophia.

_Son of a bitch, _he swore when he got back to the dresser and only the dresser, he should've taken Sophia with him. Now he was back to square one, or possibly less as they were now on to him and it was going to be harder to sneak up on them. Daryl surveyed the room; they were probably watching him right now. This just got interesting.

_You two ain't going to win this. _

He attempted to draw them out by hiding. That either didn't work because they had just gone back to hiding and weren't watching him or Daryl's inability to hold still was less than the kids. He went back to moving around.

As cautious as they were now, they had very close call when Daryl turned around.

At the last second they crawled under a bed. Peeking from underneath the bed skirt, they learned how Daryl was able to move without a sound. There was no special technique to it either. He wasn't wearing shoes.

When it was safe to come out instead of following after Daryl, Carl went the other way. She followed him, unable to ask why. They went back to where to the beds, crawling around on the ground in case Daryl was nearby. Sophia still was unsure as to why they were back here. Carl found what he was looking for; Daryl's boots.

Sophia already knew what he was thinking before he said:

"Lets hide 'em"

The plan was to get out of the bedroom section. It was very mission impossible like with Daryl prowling around the loop, not to mention the stolen boots were clunky, hard to sneak around with.

They successfully made it over to the office area. Sophia kept watch while Carl climbed up on a chair and put one of Daryl's boots up on a bookcase.

Daryl didn't feel tired anymore but he was sure if he lie down, he'd go right to sleep. Maybe that's what happened to the kids, they had fallen asleep wherever they were hiding.

_Crack_

Or maybe they had moved past him. He was more tired then he thought if those two had got by him. Daryl followed the noise through an archway and into the office section. A wheelly chair revolved slowly around in a circle. Oh yeah they were here and wouldn't be far. Daryl re-adopted his stealthy pace. It had become like hunting again. Based on the movement of the chair, they were on the right side of the room. If he walked in the between rows of desks, he'd scare them up. Game over.

They sat under the desk with baited breath. It was like that part in _Jurassic Park _where the kids were hiding in the kitchen from the velociraptors.

"Go" Carl gave Sophia a little push to another desk as Daryl was getting warmer. They had made a plan to go to the kitchen to hide the other boot.

If Carl crawled over to her, he'd be seen for sure. Since Sophia was the one with Daryl's boot, she couldn't get caught.

Daryl caught movement out of both eyes. Damnit, he never thought they'd split up. He did a sharp ninety-degree on his heel and bolted after the closest fleeting shape.

Carl ran them back through the beds, all the way past the section to their emergency exit at the very back. He had the choice between keeping running or trying to hide in the back room. As his head start had waned and was continuing to decrease, trying to hide would be best. Hopefully he had drawn Daryl far enough for Sophia to have time to hide his boot.

The door swung back and forth behind them. Daryl's eyes had to adjust to the red light. Before they did, he heard a soft _crunch _and he then knew exactly where Carl was.

" I should just leave ya in there" Daryl looked down into a very tall box, where Carl had fallen through the top.

Carl responded by trying to climb up the side. It had about as much effect as a bug trying to climb up a glass jar.

"Hold on" Daryl slowly tipped the box over, allowing Carl to get out on his own. "Don't suppose you know where Sophia is?"

"No."

Knowing Sophia, she wouldn't have struck out to far on her own. With Carl in tow and a sharp eye Daryl started searching the place for the hundredth time.

"Did you use to hunt a lot? Before all this?" asked Carl quietly. Not just to give Sophia a heads up if she was near. He was curious, watching Daryl move, you got the very strong impression he had moved that way a lot.

"Basically part of my day to day."

"Who taught you?"

"A lotta mistakes and my dad."

Best thing his father ever did for him was taught him how to hunt. But even then he couldn't be given all the credit, Daryl had taken to hunting like a fish to water. He thought of the hunting trips they, his dad, Merle and him use to go on when they were young. How determined he had been to get everything right from shooting to skinning, how he could patiently and contently track an animal for miles.

Like the sun and the moon; hunting bored Merle to death. The day before he went off to Atlanta, the last day Daryl saw him, he tried to get Merle to come hunting with him and he was reminded of how

Right then Daryl was wishing for his brother to be here. It would be a bizarre idea to anyone who met Merle. What anyone wouldn't really know was that Merle had more or less raised Daryl, not in the best way but he still had more practice than Daryl did. It'd also be nice to have another set of eyes.

"Don't figure your dad hunted much." Daryl said to interrupt his own thoughts, best not to remember the past or wish for anything, it only distracted him from what he was doing.

"No. Too much like work I guess."

"Tell ya what, when we get back to camp I'll take you out with me sometime." Daryl wasn't exactly sure why he said that, it just came out.

"Really?"

He shouldn't have been surprised at the eagerness in the boy's voice, which made it promise he was going to have to keep.

" Sure, why not."

Carl was a good kid, annoying but honestly who didn't Daryl find annoying. After all this, what would one afternoon hurt?

Speaking of hunting, he caught a brief glimpse of blonde hair disappear behind a corner at the last second.

Running around in sock feet did have a disadvantage. Daryl bit it going around a corner, bringing the pursuit to a painful halt as he crashed on the floor, giving Sophia the chance to hide.

"You ok?" she asked quietly.

Carl heard her and rolled his eyes. She could be such a girl.

"Yep, I'm ok," he answered, picking himself up.

_And you're screwed. _Daryl thought zoning in on the small voice.

Sophia peeked over the couch. At first she thought it was Daryl. But its movement was careless and stiff, quite the opposite of Daryl. And she could hear it breathing. Sure they had been making Daryl run his guts out but he'd never sound that bad. Her mind told her to get down.

Instantaneously On impulse Daryl reached around his shoulder for his crossbow. He didn't have it. The walker had locked on to someone.

Carl turned around and was face to face with a walker. It was just like his nightmares, so uncanny that he waited for himself to wake up. He never woke up until the end, not until it's teeth had sunk down to the bone.

"Carl. Move!"

They were inches a part in the dark. Daryl had the gun in his hand but he couldn't take the shot, he could hit the kid. He was moving toward them, but it felt like he wouldn't be there in time.

"Run!"

Their eyes never left each other, as if they knew each other. It had a hand on his shoulder. Just like a nightmare.

The walker crumbled before that point, its legs kicked out from beneath it by Daryl. His knife sinking through it's eye on the way down.

"What the hells wrong with you?" Daryl grabbed him, gave him a good look over, checked along his shoulders where the geek's mouth had been. "When I say run, you fucking run!"

He was crouched down at eye level with Carl. He wasn't as sheltered as the other two may think, one few occasions his parents had swore, at each other never at him, so the words didn't shock him and he was too scared to care that they were directed at him. One thing that did shock him and did stir something inside was the fear in Daryl's eyes. But Daryl wasn't afraid of walkers so Carl couldn't understand why.

"We checked- we looked everywhere – the whole store" stammered Carl, looking at the truly dead walker.

This whole time they had been running around and hiding, it had been here. This whole time they had thought they were safe, they weren't.

"Musta been hangin' out in a corner somewheres. All yer noise stirred it up." Said Daryl, he was calmed down now that they were all ok. "You literally made enough noise to wake the dead."

There is that old saying its all fun and games until a walker butts in. Well it would be an old saying someday. They went back to bed. Daryl had barely gotten comfortable, just shut his eyes when he heard them shuffling around. He ignored it until a light dyed the inside of his eyelids bright red.

"What're ya doing now?"

"Making a fort."

Of course that's what they were doing, probably to hide from werewolves or because they were werewolves and needed a cave to sleep in. Having joined the overtired club with them, Daryl couldn't help but laugh a little. He rolled on to his side and watched them. They were having trouble securing one corner of the sheet they pitching up. They needed something heavier than the lamp they were using. They needed his help.

" Watch yourself," Daryl warned Sophia as he lifted a nightstand up in place of the lamp.

They moved in, dragging in pillows and blankets to their fort.

"Awfully small," Daryl peeked in. "Ya do know there are more sheets."

"Still will be narrow," said Carl.

The space between the beds didn't give them a whole lot of room.

"Nothin' bolted to the floor."

After they moved some of the beds further apart (which would keep them from jumping around again) put up more sheets and dragged a futon and a dresser to block up the back of it, their humble shack had grown to encompass enough room for all three of them to have personal space.

"This is a kick ass fort." Yawned Daryl. Initially he had just lie down for a minute to admire his work. His body needed a little longer than a minute before he could move.

It really was. Walkers wouldn't see them and they wouldn't think to look under the sheets. They would be safe in here.

* * *

><p>The little blue flowers were faded from age and from seeing the inside of the washer. They stretched in a messy row from the top of the couch over to the cabinet.<p>

The living room was the best place to build forts, it was bigger than their bedroom.

The cabinet door crunched the tip of his finger as the last free corner of soft bed sheet slipped out of his hand as he tried to close the door on it. To alleviate the ridiculous amount of pain that caused he sucked on his finger. Maybe he had used the green sheet before.

" Get your finger outta your mouth," barked Merle.

"Wasn't biting it," said Daryl.

"Doubt that."

He went back to trying to stick the sheet in the cabinet. He was aware that Merle was watching him, probably to make sure he wasn't biting his fingernails. Daryl may only be eight years old but they were his fingers and he should be able to do what he wanted with them.

" How many times you made this?" Merle watched him struggle with it.

"I dunno," mumbled Daryl.

He felt dumb. He had made this particular fort fifty times. It was the sheet though, it wasn't cooperating with him and Daryl was getting very frustrated, which only made it harder.

"Nothin' to cry about, here I'll hold it."

Merle kept the sheet in place while Daryl shut the door.

"You gonna be alright on yer own now" Merle asked as he grabbed his jacket out of the closet, so it really meant Daryl was going to spend the night on his own now.

"Where you going?"

"Out."

That tone meant Merle would cuff him upside the head if he pushed it.

Hours past before, long dark hours, Daryl was lonely. He didn't like to be himself. He always thought he would get use to because it happened so often, maybe when he got older, being alone wouldn't bother him. He was curled up in his fort, watching TV, just about asleep when Merle returned.

"Whaddya still doing up?"

Merle crawled in beside him.

"Not tired."

"You have some dinner?"

"Yep."

"What?"

"Corn beef and carrots."

"Atta boy." Merle patted him on the shoulder. "Ya have a shower?"

"Ummm no"

"Ugh, tomorrah 'kay. You're startin' to smell"

Merle was the one who smelled like skunk.

The front door slammed shut. He heard Dad's shoes clomp into the kitchen, a sound he knew by heart, a sound that frightened him to no end. There was no telling what mood Dad was in, but from the way it sounded as he walked the floor, he was drunk. That was never good.

"Its ok, go to sleep little brother."

* * *

><p>"Carl, Daryl's asleep. " whispered Sophia.<p>

Somewhere miles from the memory playing in his head, he heard his name. Daryl was going to go to sleep, so it didn't matter that he still wasn't. Then he had that uncomfortable he was being watched.

"Ya gonna steal my kidneys?" Daryl cracked one eye open at them, to find them inches from him.

They both laughed, thinking about what they had stole.

"Aren't ya sick of sleeping in tents," asked Daryl, looking at the bed sheet built walls.

"It's a fort," corrected Carl.

"Whatever, I'm sleepin' in a bed."

Daryl sat up, before he could crawl out.

"Could you stay here, please?" Carl asked for both of them.

While they did feel safer in here, Carl's close call had spooked them and part of the reason they had been feeling so safe was that Daryl was nearby.

He couldn't see them but he could feel their huge eyes begging him to. Daryl was getting psychic puppy eyes and what was more was they worked.

"Fine, but I best not hear anymore damn shenanigans"

They were too tired for shenanigans, plus shenanigans woke the dead.

"You still awake?" asked Carl.

He felt like he had been lying there for hours.

No answer from Sophia. She was out.

_Thank for you for this safe place and for the food and other supplies we've found. _

_Please God, wherever my parents and everyone are let them be ok and please keep us as safe as we have been. Even though Daryl may not believe in you, please help him with this. I don't think he really knows what he's doing and I think that scares him. _

_Keep the dead out. _

Praying didn't put his mind to rest. Carl's mind ran through everything. Daryl's crossbow, it wasn't here. What if something happened? He tried to tell himself that

Carl crawled out of the fort. He didn't need a flashlight. After all that running around he knew the place by heart and he found the crossbow where he had taken Daryl's boots from but this time he set it near the owner.

They were prepared now.

Something was nudging him, continuously prodding his side, each jab getting harder. It took a while for it to register as an issue.

"Mmmhhmmm, what is it Soph –" Daryl woke up slowly. "Oh fuck."

Blood was dripping on to the ground with soft pats. There was more blood all over her hands and down her arms.

* * *

><p>Authors Note: Got a little experimental with Daryl's flashback.<p>

Thank you, _Melissa, Killerbee77, Take Life's Chances, rasmizar, X-Scree Scree-X, PlaneJane21, crimson fingertips, BeingLolaStar, Missmiska, sammyjase, Missy92, Ichigo95, doglvr228, writergirl94, Chimera94 ,xxOrganizedInsanityxx, but-the-clouds. _Words can not express how much I loved hearing from all of you

(If I missed your name I'm sorry, the only reason would be that you reviewed another chapter and I missed it when looking through the list)

Fun Fact: On the _Talking Dead_, (Forum on AMC after new episodes, not sure if everyone gets it) Norman Reedus said him and Madison Lintz aka Sophia, had quite the friendship on set and would always give each other dirty looks, that's where the _Daryl Dixon, you're a jerk _look came from


	9. She Looked In My Eyes And Trusted Me

The scene in front of Daryl was utterly horrifying. Sophia was kneeling beside him, sobbing, and trembling, up to her elbows in blood.

_She's bit! _

He was kicked into fight or flight mode. Her cries disappeared as the world was placed on mute. What about Carl? If there wasn't a walker clawing them apart right now, it was because it had caught something.

There were a bundle of blankets slowly moving up and down. Carl was fine. What was more the fort was still up; it was highly improbable walker would've crawled perfectly through the entrance and also over Daryl. That only meant that there wasn't a walker near them. Sophia had spent some time on her own when they were running around, right before Carl's close call, what if she had

_Don't think like that. I'd know by now if she has been - ah don't even think it. Calm down, she's probably just hurt. Find out where she's hurt and do something about it. _

Daryl regained his hearing. It didn't help him. Sophia was absolutely hysterical, she could hardly breath; much less tell him what was wrong.

" Easy. Easy now, its okay." his voice sounded weak to him, how was she supposed to believe him.

Continuing to coax her as well as himself. Daryl took a hold of her wrists and pulled them away from her mouth, unable to not notice how thin she was, how easy it would be to snap them.

There was blood all up one side of her cheek. No bite, no gash or any mark, just blood. There nothing

"Sophia, what's um. What's wrong?"

She was looking him right in the eye. It sounded like she was trying to talk but she couldn't get the words out. Sophia may not be able to verbalize, however her eyes clearly stated: _Help me. _

She turned away, not only her gaze, Sophia's whole delicate frame twisted away at an awkward angle as he still had her wrists in his hands. She started violently coughing and gagging. Whatever shred of composure Daryl had tore in to million little pieces.

She was spitting up blood.

Jim had done the same towards the end or so he'd been told. He let go of her in absolute shock, she slumped forward, her coughing got worse. Daryl sunk back, feeling like he had been punched in the gut. The crossbow poked him the back. Gruesome thoughts that had been in his head before became stronger when he looked at his weapon of choice.

If he had to use this on Sophia tonight –

_Don't think that. _

His stomach clenched itself into a knot. Daryl was on the verge of being sick, if he had eaten recently he would've.

"Sophia," he croaked, unable to manage anything more.

She had stopped coughing. She was still fighting for her breath, still crying, still looking in his eyes.

_Help me. _

_I can't. _He responded back with a lost look.

Daryl couldn't do anything. Even if she hadn't been bitten which was the only explanation he had, Sophia had a serious problem, it was way beyond most people capabilities. The only thing he could think of to do was to get her out of here before she woke Carl, he shouldn't see this.

Give her the hour, if it got worse. Daryl would not let her suffer.

Daryl held out his hand to her, she stayed doubled over and refused to take it.

Still in shock, they just looked at each other. He had to get her out of here.

Then gently, very gently he grabbed the shaky girl with his shaky hands and pulled her over to the entrance.

"Sssshhhhh, its alright. Easy baby."

_Baby? _He heard his voice but wasn't sure it was his. Did Daryl really just baby her?

Once they cleared the roof Daryl picked her up, that was all he picked up. He needed nothing else. Not yet.

He tried to block what he would have to do at the yet part. Worse how he was going to do the yet part. It had to be painless, and quick. For both their sakes it had to be quick.

"Its ok, its ok" Daryl repeated.

Sophia didn't like the way he was cradling her, she kept struggling, trying to pull herself up without grabbing on to him. Once again he thought of Jim, how pained he looked when they pulled him out of the RV. He was probably hurting her. Falling on the floor would hurt a whole lot more. Being the lesser of two evils he switched his hold so that Sophia was upright, positioned on his hip. He had done that to get a stronger hold, which was no longer necessary. Pacified, she nuzzled her head into his shoulder.

Daryl didn't like that for a number of reasons. First and foremost it was uncomfortable. Secondly he was holding a time bomb. Three minutes. It had only taken three minutes someone a grand total of three minutes to die and come back, it would make sense that children took the least amount of time to turn and she was right on him. Thirdly, because of the close proximity he could feel how warm she was, Daryl knew Sophia didn't trust him, she could not be her right mind to be doing this.

He didn't take as her as far as he would've ideally liked. They were probably still in earshot of the fort but he could not handle carrying her much longer and there was potentially a stray walker roaming around. He could not go through this twice.

Daryl did not know what to do next, he could try to find the bite but there was nothing he could do. He was given the next step; Keep Sophia here as she was refusing to lie back. As suspected she was starting to get delusional.

" Whoa, whoa, whoa" Daryl pushed her shoulders with as little pressure as possible back down on the bed, "stay here, we're gonna stay here."

The way she was trying to pull herself up reminded him of how Amy came back. He wasn't even humoring any other reason for Sophia's turn for the worst. It had taken her all night to reanimate. Daryl would not be able to do this all night, but he could not end it earlier but what if Carl woke up, he couldn't let him see this and scar the kid for life. He had said an hour but he didn't think he could follow through this time. But then Sophia would suffer and he didn't want that.

"Nooo - I can't – its- " Between her ragged breaths, Sophia managed a few rough words, it was jarring to hear her voice. She was cut off when she started gagging again.

He hadn't gotten the chance to see until now that there was a lot of blood around her mouth. Too thick to have been put there by her hands before or have been coughed up.

Now it all made sense, he knew why Sophia was spitting up blood, it was for the same reason she had fought the first way Daryl had picked her up and why she was fighting now. She wasn't delusional with fever because a walker had not bitten her, she only wanted to sit up.

"Mother fucker, all this cryin' over nosebleed." Said Daryl incredulously.

That was one perspective. All Sophia could think was that she was bleeding, badly bleeding and it wouldn't stop and with every breath she could feel it going down her throat.

She had woken up when she felt something wet on her face, she rolled over to the other side of the pillow. The next thing she noticed was that her nose was running, hardly awake Sophia hadn't thought anything of it. When it got worse, she took notice and found out that it was blood. Half awake her mind crafted nightmarish explanations; Sophia imagined pictures of her brain that looked like the ones the scientist had shown them, but only her brain was bleeding in these pictures. Pretty soon she wouldn't be able to speak to anyone, or think, she wouldn't even know her own name. Sophia was going to become a walker.

Daryl could not decide if he was angry by the complete overreaction or happy that she was fine. If his decision was the former he was going to have bottle it down because while the diagnosis calmed him down, it did nothing for Sophia. Daryl pressed a pillowcase on her nose, placing pressure on the squishy part under the cartilage.

"You've never had a nosebleed before have ya?"

It was a rhetorical question, it was very clear she hadn't. Sophia shook her head anyway.

"Don't move your head, keep it about here" he tilted her head forward and because it seemed like the thing to do, he patted the back of her head.

"Ya need to calm down. You're going to just fine."

Simply telling her to calm down did not work, Sophia was still sucking back her breath. It didn't matter how much her head was tilted forward when she forcible drawing blood down her throat. She got herself into another coughing fit, which made her more upset.

"Here's what I want you to do. Close your eyes. " Sophia followed his instructions and shut her eyes right a way. "I'm gonna count to five and yer going to take a deep breathe in through your mouth on each count. One. "

On command she breathed in and did nothing more.

" 'Kay good but ya got to breath out. Two. Three. " He was counting on his fingers even though she couldn't see. "Four. Five. Atta girl."

Before she opened her eyes, Daryl turned the cloth over as it had become full of blood. Those five breaths had done their job and enabled her to calm down making the bleeding less. It was a bit early for a celebration but Daryl felt damn proud of himself.

" Ya want to take this" he meant the pillowcase.

" Nu-uh, you." She sniffed.

Daryl normally did not need to talk to fill the air. The past three day he was doing things he hadn't done before so it almost made sense he felt he needed to talk.

"So you got stung by a bee, had me dig out the stinger and then had a nosebleed for the first time in your whole life. Today is not your day huh?"

That's real comforting; remind her of every awful thing that's happened to her today.

"No." she mumbled.

He turned the cloth over again. Sophia whimpered. On the white pillowcase the blood spots looked worse than it was really was.

"Its ok. Definitely slowed." That was not a lie. "Girl, you gave me a right start."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. You were scared."

Daryl knew what it was like to be unreasonably scared firsthand.

"When I was a kid, not much younger than you, I got pneumonia. There was enough fluid build up in my lungs that they had to physically drain 'em. To do that they stick a long needle in through your back, just suck it out. They put this freezing crap on me, told me I wouldn't feel a thing 'bout a hundred times. Doctor told me to shut my eyes just before he went to put it in. I didn't listen and I saw that needle and it terrified me. I pitched a fit, screamed pretty damn loud for a kid with a bunch of fluid in his lungs an' it took Merle plus the doctor and a nurse to hold me down. That wasn't even the whole chest needle part, that was just them tryin' to give me a regular shot ta calm me down and make me hold the hell still. Anyway, the point of this is don't feel bad about freaking out over this. We all do over something at one point or another."

"I don't like hospitals."

'After that rodeo, neither did I."

"Did it hurt?"

"What?"

"The needle they put in your lungs?"

"Nah, after the sedative I couldn't even imagine that it did. Lets see if it stopped."

Given some warning this time Sophia had the chance to shut her eyes as he pulled the pillowcase away.

"Not yet." He replaced it with a clean piece.

_What if it doesn't stop? _Sophia's tired brain asked her. Daryl could feel her tense up. He had to distract her or she was going to make it worse.

"What's ya favorite color?"

"It's a tie between blue and purple."

"Any reason?"

"Not really, but blue was the color of my girl guides uniform."

" What do girl guides do aside from selling cookies?"

"Lot's a stuff. "

Sophia kept talking, telling him all about her troop, her friends, the badges she had and those she wanted. Saying more then she had in their entire personal history.

They were so close, he felt a subtle shiver on her part and despite Daryl's qualms about lack of personal space, it was the best little shiver in the world. Sophia truly was going to be ok. The fever he thought he felt had been his head. Arguable Daryl had overacted as much as she had.

"Cold?"

"Bit."

Daryl, one-handed tucked a blanket around her.

"My mom quilts. She made a blanket like this one." Sophia thumbed hexagons of the fake look alike homey quilt. "I always use it when I'm sick 'cause it never makes you too hot or too cold. "

They were both drained from all the excitement that they almost went back to sleep.

" I know its tempting but don't pick it. " Daryl said. Just in time as he didn't have anymore clean spots on the pillowcase.

Sophia stumbled sideways when she stepped off the bed.

"Here." He picked her up, "Yer light headed."

Sophia found the same spot on his shoulder. Still was uncomfortable but Daryl didn't want her knocking into something or falling down and restarting it.

"I'm sorry I stepped on your hand this morning." She whispered.

They crawled back into the fort and. Carl was still sound a sleep, without the slightest idea of what went on.

_Lucky bastard,_ thought Daryl. All the same:

"Wake me, if it starts again."

Sophia flipped the pillow over so she could sleep on the clean side. As disgusting as it sounded she did want to pick her nose, it was stuffed up and she couldn't breathe right. She put her mind to work thinking about something else. She thought about the man lying across from her.

When she first woke up with the nosebleed, she had tried to wake up Carl. She knew that they'd have to wake Daryl, she just didn't want to be alone with him. However Carl was a deep sleeper and she had no choice but to go it alone. She had been scared, but the funny thing was that as soon as Daryl had picked her up and she was able to nestle in to his shoulder like she did with her mom, Sophia felt unbelievably comforted.

It was his rowdy manner that had made Sophia uneasy around Daryl, he was like her dad or so she had thought. Sophia had judged him too quickly. Tonight was a testament to that.

He may be rough with her and Carl at times. But he was not doing it to be mean. Daryl was rough because that was the only way he knew how to be.

Sophia still was unsure about him but she did get figure something out before she dropped off.

Daryl wasn't a bad guy. He was just different.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: "For the child that wakes up in the middle of the night with a nosebleed, this can be a very frightening experience. It is also frightening for the parent."– <em>Nosebleeds In Children At Night<em>. . (Specially if you live in a zombie apocalypse.)

**Kudos **to **Lavoisiae, **who caught The Boondock Saints reference in chapter 7. And put the line I was referring to flawlessly in your review, that made me super happy.

Thank you for all the reviews: _cuberftw, BeingLolaStar, sammyjase__, __basserandstuff, JesseGlennFan, Missy92,but-the-cclouds,Laurie220,heroic9,trechner, Killerbee77, Equestrian 4 life, Eshyln Kar, Take Life's Chances, anonymous , Lavoisiae, crimson fingertips. _


	10. Everything's Food For Something Else

"Up." A gruff voice said, over the sound of finger snapping in their ears. "C'mon, get up."

They were robbed of their blankets. Carl groaned in protest and reached around blindly for the blanket. Sophia was unfazed by the theft as she had herself cocooned in another one, which Daryl could not pry out of her hands. She was not immune to the shoulder rocking and prodding. Each one let out a very unhappy moan when their just opened eyes were hit with a full beam of light.

"You want ta find yer parents or don't ya?"

"Five more minutes" mumbled Carl.

"We've lost two hours a daylight already. Up."

There was more poking, shaking and other annoying things keeping them from going back to sleep. (Payback's a bitch.) Eventually they became accustomed to it and started tuning him out.

"Aight, I warned ya." Neither one remembered hearing a warning. Must have got drowned out by all the finger snapping. What was left for him to do that he hadn't done already?

Pain flared up as Daryl pinched the top of their ears.

"Ow, ow ow." They both cried.

"I'll stop when ya'll get up"

The kids pushed themselves up pretty quickly. As promised he let them go, the pain subsided, leaving heat in its place. Daryl threw back the blanket roof as he got on his feet. Something popped in his shoulder when he stretched. It wasn't due to sleeping on the floor as it was due to crashing into it.

Splatters of bloodstains on the floor were about as subtle as a horror movie.

"Daryl," cried Carl in alarm" Daryl. Sophia's hurt."

"Shit!" He dropped back down on his knees, pretending to be shocked. "Lemme see."

Carl crawled over next to them. His heart jumping irregularly as he watched Daryl look over his best friend, expecting to see a big chunk missing from her at any moment.

"Geezus, that a bite?" Daryl was looking at the palm of her hand where a good amount of blood had stained.

To Carl's imaginative, terrified mind the red-dyed band-aid gave the illusion of some sort of skin disfigurement.

Sophia still dopey with sleep, took her hand back from Daryl to rub her nose, it was sticky from the caked on blood.

"I just hadda nosebleed, 'member?" Sophia said with a yawn.

_Just had a nosebleed and just shaved two years off my life. _Daryl thought.

"That wasn't funny," Carl pretty well snarled.

The dirty look he received from Carl was even more potent than the two he'd gotten from Sophia combined, getting a way from name calling and saying more to the effect; _I would hit you if I thought I could get a way with it!_

"No it wasn't," agreed Daryl, "but neither is havin' grey hair, which I do now. I'd say we're square."

"How do you know that, can you see the top of your head?" Carl argued, still looking pretty angry with him

" Head's not the only place you grow hair, kid. " Daryl chuckled, adding without thinking, "Its in my treasure trail."

The simultaneous tilt of their heads and drawing down of their eyebrows told Daryl that they did not what a treasure trail was. He missed talking to adults.

"Forget it. " Daryl cut them off before they could even ask. "Come on, on your feet, soup's getting cold."

It was a quiet breakfast with Carl still angry with him for scaring him and Sophia sleeping with her eyes open. Getting up with the birds was bred right in Daryl. He had woken up a while before he decided to wake Carl and Sophia. After going out the back exit to see if the sun was up, and plan their route, he made heated up another can of vegetable soup, since Carl didn't like cream of mushroom and it would stick with them for a while, give them energy.

The whole nosebleed ordeal with Sophia had strangely given him some much-needed confidence. Without any prior experience, he had taken care of her, comforted her when she was scared. Somewhere deep down Daryl had some paternal instinct.

They were all fed and watered, had enough supplies to last them a little while. He was going to keep an eye on Sophia, make sure he didn't run her too hard in case she was still woozy. The crossbow was locked and loaded, slung across his back. They were ready to – and he wasn't wearing shoes.

They didn't need to go as far as the bedroom section to retrieve them. A dirty work boot was sitting up on the top shelf of a bookcase, it was his dirty work boot to be exact.

_How – _Daryl began to question, but just as quickly figured it was his pint sized companions were responsible.

"Why would you put your shoe all the way up there?" asked Carl innocently.

He had to reach up to his arm's full length and even then his fingertips barely managed to snag it.

"Where's the other one, urchins?"

"Urchins?" Sophia questioned.

"Yeah, 'cause y'know who steals shoes? Street urchins."

" Tell us what a treasure trail is," bargained Carl.

The office section alone had too many hiding spots for a boot and he didn't have the time to look in half of them, they really needed to get going.

"It's the hair that runs down from your belly button into your pants," Daryl explained, hoping they would not question why it was called that.

"Hmmm did not know that had a name," said Carl thoughtfully.

"Yeah, your mom will be thrilled. Now, where's the other one?"

"I don't know" Sophia never told Carl where she had hidden it. They had sort of forgot about it until now.

"I do." Sophia piped up, before Carl got hit. "You're getting warmer,"

"Seriously?" Daryl said unimpressed. "Sophia, just tell me where it is"

"It went that a way." She leading them into the living room

"It?" Daryl raised his eyebrows.

"Yep. They woke me up with all their clunking about and I saw them run out of the fort. They are not sneaky boots. So I said Daryl's boots you get back here right now or he's gonna be real unpleasant but they didn't listen." Lied Sophia.

"Yeah sure. Replace boots with Carl and Sophia and you have the true story."

Carl could not hold back his laughter anymore and it broke out in to little sniggers.

They didn't know when or why tormenting Daryl had become so much fun.

"Brats, both of you. God damn brats" Daryl muttered.

Probably because of those kind of reactions.

"Thought we were urchins."

_Oh I have plenty of names for you right now. _Daryl thought, but he was really going to watch his mouth around them because it turns out children were a lot like parrots. The only time they listened was when he said things they shouldn't hear.

" Warmer," he kept on in that path because the only way to get his boot back was to play along.

" Warmer, warmer. Cold."

Daryl backed stepped about two.

"Hot."

He looked under the couch and coffee table. Nothing.

"Warm," his proximity level to his missing shoe was downgraded as he moved away from couch.

Daryl flipped up the couch cushions, it was pretty clear before it wasn't in there, now he knew for sure it wasn't. Why couldn't anything be simple with these two?

"You're really close," Sophia encouraged him.

He stopped looking for his boot and looked at them. They were glancing a lot at a lamp, he flipped the lampshade off, or rather they had been glancing at his boot with a lampshade on top of it. "Real cute."

"When ya'll need a break, speak up. I promise I won't get mad, though you might have to remind me I said I wouldn't" said Daryl finishing tying his shoes.

The sky was completely clear, so was the lot behind the store. Daryl went out first.

The kids hung back in the doorway, scared. Seeing them that way, after they had been so playful and happy, made Daryl have serious second thoughts about taking them out on the road. Could they all just stay here?

_An' what? Play hide and seek all day? _ He mocked himself, _grow a pair or you'll be taking care of these two forever._

They were close; they had to be close to the rest of the group. They wouldn't have gone far, not with these two missing. They would run into them today, had to, but not if they stayed here.

"Let's head 'er.

* * *

><p>Voices.<p>

Somewhere in the near distance, they could hear voices. A sound they had not heard in such a long time, they had almost did not recognize it for what it was.

It gave them the strength to get up.

Voices.

The hunt was on.

* * *

><p>They cut across a field to get back to their original street. The grass had grown wild, the long stalks rustling as they passed through. The trios trampling feet stirred up, grasshoppers that jumped away with a nosy clatter of their wings.<p>

Carl allowed himself to fall further behind as he stopped to look one of the pests hugging the top of a stem that bowed slightly under its weight. He reached out slowly. Before he could close his cupped hand under it, it flew away.

He started cutting his own path. More grasshoppers scattered around him. Daryl looked over his shoulder once to see Carl zigzagged after them. Sophia was carefully stepping through the grass behind him, also keeping a eye on Carl.

One jumped right in front of his foot. Carl pounced on it.

"I caught one." He announced triumphantly.

The grasshopper crawled around, tickling his palm with its sticky feet.

" Want to see it?" Carl peeked in between his hand. Black little eyes looked back at him, he could see its little mouth moving away "Its kinda cute."

"No its not. It's a bug," said Sophia.

"C'mon just look." Carl came closer to her with the grasshopper.

There was a small wicked smile on his face, which any girl knew from the schoolyard. Sophia ran up next to Daryl.

" Hi." She greeted, when he looked over at her.

"Hi?" Daryl returned the greeting, unsure of where that came from.

Carl caught up to them. Sophia ran away from him, putting Daryl in between them. He had protected her from everything else.

"Stop bein' such a scaredy cat," taunted Carl. He followed after her.

Sophia ran back on the other side of Daryl. Carl went after her

"Whatcha got?" asked Daryl.

" A nasty ass grasshopper," answered Sophia.

Not many people would believe Sophia had bit of a mouth on her because she only swore when there weren't any adults around. Carl had her swear before, Daryl was more than a little surprised.

Carl continued to chase Sophia around the field.

"Leave her be." Daryl grabbed the back of Carl's collar on the next pass by.

"Do you want to see it?"

Daryl had seen plenty of grasshoppers in his lifetime, but he could tell Carl wanted him to see this one and he may be more inclined to stop bugging Sophia if someone looked.

"Did ya name it?" asked Daryl, thinking of Seamus the walker.

" Nope. hhhmmm, what's a good name for a bug?"

No one had an answer. Carl already had a name picked out.

"Daryl's a pretty good name for a bug." He teased.

"Awe, you named it after me. I'm flattered."

Carl continued carrying the grasshopper. Every so often, stopping to sneak a peek. It kept him preoccupied though slowing him down, Daryl didn't say anything so he was keeping up enough. He could study every detail of its whole scaly body. Carl had caught grasshoppers before, this one's famous back legs had a yellow stripe on it that he hadn't seen before. They came to the end of the field, Carl crouched down and opened his hand. Daryl the grasshopper turned but it didn't hop away.

"Daryl, go home."

"What?" The real Daryl asked, Carl was still trying to shake the stubborn bug off.

"Oh him. He's not gonna listen. That's what you get for naming it Daryl. "

Even though they had been there once before, the street looked like a unfamiliar territory in the light.

Sophia climbed up on a concrete barrier and walked along the top of the row, helping keep her balance by holding her arms out. She minded the placement of her feet but did not look down at them. The trick was to look straight ahead. She remembered hot afternoons of doing this back in her hometown and with the sun in her eyes, she could pretend she was there.

"Maybe you should get down," commented Carl, after she faltered a bit.

Sophia kept on, she liked it up there. There was a gap that was bigger than the previous ones she had stepped over. She measured it up several times, looking to the from end to end.

Daryl held out his hand to her. When Sophia finally noticed it, she gave him the biggest smile. She grabbed his hand and with the strong support was able to step over to the next block.

* * *

><p>They wandered through the streets.<p>

As the voices became louder, they caught their games scent. It was faint amongst the smell of gasoline, trash, and general decay. It was of sweat and blood. It was alive.

The odor gave them energy. It made them excited.

They came up on their prey. There were three: an adult male and two who were half grown. One appeared to be injured though it didn't move like it was, walking a top of a series of blocks.

Their muscles tensed, but they didn't unravel them in an attack. They could not afford to be reckless.

It was the adult male that made them wary. He was rather big. They may have to wait to till the little ones were on their own.

"Aaaahh" one of the smaller ones screamed.

One of the sick ones cut in on _their _prey.

The small one fell over to the same side as the intruding sick one.

From there they lost sight of it.

The adult male moved fast, he jumped up on the block , kicked the sick one over and shot it down, then he hopped over, disappearing from view as well.

" You okay?"

" Yeah,"

The second small one was alone on their side.

It was tempting. They probably would've taken that chance a few moments, but what they just saw made them all the more cautious.

The adult male was protective of them.

* * *

><p>"I need to go to the bathroom, " said Sophia.<p>

"Oh, ok," said Daryl.

The only spot was fence created by a collision between a jeep and a mini van.

"Do what ya gotta," he leaned up against the hood of the minivan.

She walked around the vehicles, looking around at the wide-open street. Just the thought of squatting down there was made her skin crawl.

_Shut your eyes like it's a really gross outhouse. _She told herself.

At least a gross outhouse had walls.

She fumbled with the button on her clam diggers. It had always been a tough button.

"That packs not too heavy?" She heard Daryl ask Carl.

"Nope," answered Carl.

They were so close she heard one of them (probably Daryl) spit. That tore it.

"I can't go."

" Uh, why not?" Daryl rubbed the back of his neck.

Sophia thought hard about how she was going to explain to Daryl that she was too uncomfortable to go out in the open, that she'd like to go someplace with a bit more privacy.

" 'Cause um, I can't go outside. "

"It's the same as goin' in the bush," said Daryl, obviously missing the point.

"I use the bathroom in the RV."

" Well, we don't have that luxury." Daryl came off with a bit more snap than he intended, he toned it down, " Look Sophia, There ain't anything around an' I'll be standing right here the whole time."

That didn't help. That was the problem.

" Obviously with my back turned and I'll keep him within in my sights. " Daryl added seeing the troubled look on her face.

She looked around at the scattered buildings, which had become more spread out as they reached the edge of town.

" One of these places will have a bathroom."

"No, 'cause then we're going to have dick around making sure there are no geeks in place or worse end up get cornered. I assure ya, no one is watchin'. Just go."

"Please, can we go to a bathroom?"

Biting his tongue, Daryl simply shook his head and pointed to the spot behind the cars.

"Daryl, I really have to pee," stressed Sophia.

Really was not being used only for arguments sake. She had to go for a while and was going to relieve herself on their last break but she had faced the same problem. Now she a reached the point where she was almost in pain from an overstretched bladder.

"As you've made me aware. Go."

"But I can't." Sophia placed weight on the _n't. _

"Not if you're standing here arguin' with me, ya can't"

The Georgian sun had made them hot and cranky, which raised the frustration level fast.

Daryl was so busy fighting with Sophia, that he failed notice the walker that was eavesdropping.

"Hey," Carl tried to get their attention.

" Fine, don't go then." Daryl turned his back on her, about to take a step.

" I'm not moving until I get go to a bathroom," Sophia said, crossing her arms.

Sophia had not completely lost her fear of Daryl, especially when his eyes were burning in to her like they were and they both knew he could pick her up. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

_Who the hell does this girl think she's fucking with? _Daryl met Sophia's hard glare.

His temper had not taken complete control of this situation. Daryl kept staring her down, hoping that would be enough to make her listen. How was he supposed to handle this?

"Hey you guys." Carl tried again with the window of silence.

Daryl caught on, with a growl he hefted the crossbow in a swift movement, letting out some of pent up frustration with a pull on the trigger on the walker.

"Get movin', miss or I'm gonna come over there and knock ya upside your head. "

Sophia thought about sitting down in response but she knew that would be asking for it.

"Just go, Sophia," said Carl.

He was sick of this ridiculous argument and wanted to be on the move, especially after that geek.

Even though they were best friends, he could see Daryl's point and did not understand hers. He didn't know how much not taking her side hurt Sophia.

"How is it different then going into IKEA?" asked Sophia.

"When we're spending the night, we have the time to look around and do all that jazz. How come you just can't go pee outside?"

"There's no toilet paper," Sophia brought up new point.

"You said ya just needed to take a piss."

"I'm a girl, I can't just shake it," said Sophia bluntly.

That made him blush. This was uncomfortable. It did make Daryl realize that he may be being a little insensitive to her needs, major emphasis on the _her_.

"Alright, we'll find a bathroom." He gave in.

"Thank you," she said curtly.

"If anything happens, it'll be your damn fault."

Harsh but no matter who he was arguing with even if they were twice as big as him, Daryl had never been able to lose an argument with any sort of grace.

Carl rolled his eyes with a very audible scoff, keeping on Daryl's storming off heels.

Sophia trailed behind the two. The price of getting to go a proper bathroom was that everyone was mad at her.

The smallest building that would have a bathroom and had the most points of exit was a diner with next to no windows. They could the whole area as they walked through the window. Of course the washrooms had to be at the back and off a very narrow hallway.

Sophia walked in and right back out of two stalls.

"What –" Daryl began to snarl.

"They were gross," Sophia answered matter-of-factly.

Daryl looked over at Carl, who sitting on the counter. _Dear lord, I'm going to kill her, _he seemed to say.

The lock slid in to place. Finally she had her privacy. Something that Sophia still had to deal with was the button on her fly. Maybe it was the urgency signals she was getting from her body or that she was over emotional from being picked on by the boys. She could not undo it.

"You best go," Daryl barked.

Sophia twisted the fabric as hard as she could with no results. She had to ask for help or wet herself.

"I need help, " whined Sophia, with no really other option.

Whoa, whoa what? Going to the bathroom was one of the few things the kids were old enough to do on their own, Daryl honestly did not know what he would do if they weren't.

"It's the stupid button, I can't get it undone. Its super tough," Sophia's throat tightened involuntary.

_Help me. _There was that look again.

Daryl kneeled down on the grungy tile floor in front her, and tried to undo the button. Tried not to think about the fact that it was on a twelve year old.

This brought uncomfortable to a whole new level. As much Daryl reassured himself that he was not doing anything wrong. He felt like he was going to go to the ninth layer of hell for this.

"Lordy, this is a tough button," commented Daryl.

They had reached the breaking point where all the frustration and awkwardness had become funny. Sophia was starting to crack up, Daryl started to too.

He got the button half way through the hole, which was all she needed.

Sophia slammed the stall door behind her in a hurry.

_Just go _Sophia told herself.

She had privacy, her pants down, toilet paper but there was still something wrong.

"Could you whistle or something?" asked Sophia.

Carl banged his heels against the counter. Daryl pinched the bridge of his nose, which was quite a funny sight, Carl laughed.

With the cover of those two sounds, Sophia was finally able to go pee.

So she has a shy bladder, Daryl made the connection. That's what she had been trying to tell him. He needed to work on his listening skills.

* * *

><p>An unfortunate rat crawled out into the open.<p>

It's neck was snapped before it could sense the threat that ended its life.

Its body did not quiet the pain in its stomach. It only heightened the thirsty for blood.

* * *

><p>Author's note: I spent all Saturday night and Sunday watching the marathon reviewing the source material for you guys.

*fans welling eyes* Wow, triple digits. I would like to thank the internet, for allowing us to have our community and but most of all I would like to thank all of you, all of you amazing people who have reviewed. To: JesseGlennFan, Eshlyn Kar, Taking Life's Chances, crimson fingertips, Missy92, writergirl94, Anonymous, Anea the Morwinyon, sammyjase, Equestrain 4 life, .x, TNT1227, but-the-clouds, Lavoisiae, kdoggt. Thank You

And all those have reviewed before Thank You.

One time I went camping with a friend and they did the whole tenting thing and I have been brought up in RV. One night I had to go pee super bad and the washrooms were seventy billion feet away in the dark and I didn't want to get mauled by a bear so I had to squat in the bush and yeah it was awful.

Found this while ago, it's the redo of The Walking Dead's intro, if TWD was an 80's sitcom that is.

http:/ / 2012 /01/ see-walking-deads-opening. php

Copy and paste this into your address bar and take out the spaces, It's well worth it


	11. Pulling Together, Not Apart

A late Thank You to Harlequinmercy .x,, it deleted it last time for some reason.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Not anything, see my end note for references/works cited.

* * *

><p>The sun hit them hard when they stepped out of the diner from the most awkward and neurotic bathroom break in history.<p>

" You get that button done up?" Asked Daryl. Couldn't have her running around with her pants falling down.

"Yes. It's easier to do up" Sophia squinted due the sun as she looked up at him, "thanks for helping me."

Before when he had been wishing for some extra support, Daryl of course had been thinking of another guy. Now he was thinking it would be nice to have one of the kid's moms or Andrea at the very least to do all this mothery stuff and deal with the whole different sex issue between him and the little blonde one. Sophia was probably wishing the same thing.

"Don't mention it. Tell ya what though, felt like I was goin' to the ninth layer of hell," said Daryl.

"How many levels are there?" asked Carl. He didn't remember hearing about there being multiple levels of hell at church.

"Nine. That's the lowest you can go. Reserved for traitors, people who take up two parking stalls and child molesters."

"Are you a child molester?" asked Sophia. A pretty serious question for the light tone she asked with.

"Gawd no!" Daryl said, tripping a bit over his own feet at the shocking question.

'Well then you don't have to worry about going to hell," Sophia said brightly, the point she planned to get to. "And in other good news, you don't have any grey hair."

"Huh?"

"I saw the top of your head and I didn't see any grey hairs"

"Once again, not on my head."

Sophia huffed and shook her head. "You're a odd duck, Dixon"

The look on Daryl's face and the way he raised his hands clearly said. _What? _

"Takes one to know one." He retorted.

Carl felt he had missed something. When did these two become such good friends? Hell, Sophia was being friendlier to Daryl than she was to him. Her attitude towards Carl was a little standoffish.

_Is she mad at me? _Carl wondered.

He caught her eye and smiled. She didn't return the response. Carl felt his heart sink, settling somewhere near his belly button.

Sophia climbed up on to another wall, restarting her whole balancing act. Her energy surprised Daryl, he had thought from the looks of her this morning that she'd be slower. It was actually Carl lagging and starting to look a bit worn thin. They kept him on his toes. Daryl slowed his pace to casually end up by Carl.

"You doing okay?"

"Uh-huh"

"How 'bout a break?"

Carl shrugged the backpack up farther to adjust it more comfortably on his shoulders. It was starting to get weigh on him but Daryl had his hands full. Carl could at least help out, unlike Sophia who was too busy playing circus performer.

"No. I don't need a break." Carl said firmly.

Taking a break meant wasting daylight. Daryl had said this morning that they had wasted two hours of it already, meaning they had an even shorter travel day. Then they had wasted more time with the detour to the bathroom because of flipping Sophia.

It was easy to say Carl was no longer saddened by the fact that Sophia was mad at him. Now he was reciprocating some anger back at her.

"Let me know when ya get tired then.

* * *

><p>It was becoming harder to stalk their prey. There was less cover for them. They compensated by keeping a wider breadth.<p>

Though that did mean that they would not be able to jump in instantaneously on the chance to get at the little ones. However they had not seen a single opportunity since the small chance earlier.

They could not give up on this hunt, these three were the first available meal they had seen in days.

One of them angled in closer than the rest of them to scout out the situation.

If the adult male was getting tired, they may stand a chance against him.

They had seen their own grow too weak to fight.

It was eat or be eaten.

* * *

><p>Sophia was humming. Carl recognized the tune. He couldn't name it but he knew he had heard it. His mom loved it….<p>

* * *

><p>The smell of homemade stew was gathering in strength, wafting into the living room. Carl slumped down on the couch, hoping to make a wall against the odor with the latest issue of <em>Science Dog<em>.

The phone rang behind him. Engulfed in the story, the unexpectedness startled him.

"Got it," he called to Mom. "Hello."

"Hey Carl,"

"Hey Dad,"

On the other end, he heard a quiet, long exhale.

"Is Mom there?"

No time for small talk.

"Yep, hold on."

Carl put his comic open and face down to keep his place, and ran the phone in to the kitchen where the smell of stew was so strong it seemed to warm up the air. Mom was washing dishes in the sink.

"Dad." He gave her the phone.

"Hello." Mom took the phone from him, foamy bubbles ran down her hand.

Carl lifted himself up on the counter. Carefully he lifted the lid on the huge white pot, deflecting the steam away from himself, he fished a carrot out. Stew wasn't all bad. He liked the carrots and the potatoes were good too.

"Alright….no I mean alright don't have dinner with us again…yeah I know…means I'm sure it is…bye"

She hung up with a _beep_, putting the phone

"Dad's not going to be home," she needlessly said, adding bitterly. "Again"

She went back to her original task underneath the soap bubbles. Scrubbing hard at a spot on a baking pan. The whole atmosphere of the room changed with Mom's stormy mood.

He wished he could tell them how stupid they were both being. He may be just a kid but his outside view of these reoccurring (and often reiterated) fights gave him an insightful perspective. In this case he knew Dad wouldn't skip out on them if he didn't have to but Mom still got hurt by it, underneath all the spit and vinegar, she was in pain and she couldn't help that. Dad needed to be a bit more understanding. So they were going to fight about it.

An educated premonition started squeezing at his stomach. Carl hated when Mom and Dad fought. It wasn't just each other they tore into, he got tore apart as well.

"_I hope you never lose your sense of wonder. _

_You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger._

_May you never take one single breath for granted," _

A smooth voice sang under slight static.

He bent the antennae on the small radio over to the far side. It was the wrong way of tuning it as he lost the song completely to hissing static. Slowly he brought the rod back over his way. The melancholy tune weakly emerged…

" – _and when you get the choice to sit it out or dance." _

_I hope you dance. "_

Once he got rid of the static with a few more fine movements of the antennae, Carl turned it up a notch.

He could tell when she started to notice. The tension surrounding her started to dissipate.

"_I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance._

_Never settle for the path of least resistance._

_Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin' "_

"_Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin'" _Mom started singing like he hoped would.

She put a paring knife in the empty adjoining sink with a clatter as it hit the other drying dishes.

"_Dance_

_I hope you dance_

_- time is a wheel in constant motion always rolling us along."_

Mom sang along. The

"Come dance with me baby." She took his wrist and pulled him down from the counter.

"Aw Mom," he whined. He hopped down anyway.

She ignored his slight protest, swinging his arms, drafting him in to dancing.

"_I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean_

_Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens_

_Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance_

_And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance"_

He gave in to her. They speed up, spinning around each other. At one point Mom guided them to the other side of the island as they had been dancing too close to the stove. Giggling over the somber song emitted from the radio. Carl forgot all about the worries he had to fully capture this happy, silly moment with his mom.

"_I hope you dance_

_-Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder, where those years have gone?"_

As the final notes sounded off, Mom kneeled down, she had that look that she was about to cry and hugged him hard, squeezing him uncomfortably tight.

"Thanks for the dance, sweetie." Her voice was a little choked up, She looked over at the large pot on the stove, then back to him with a smile, brushing away whatever it was with a thought.

"The stew will keep. Let's go get some cheeseburgers."

* * *

><p>The memory replayed in little bits and pieces again and again as Sophia kept humming that stupid song. No matter how hard he tried to shake it away. It kept right on coming up and it brought the sting of tears with it.<p>

Even though they acted stupid sometimes, he missed his mom and dad. He missed how it used to be. How it still should be.

"Quit it before you attract geeks," snapped Carl.

Sophia was in no mood to be blamed for bringing the dead down on them. Again.

"If there any are close enough to hear me, they will more then hear you."

She restarted humming, maybe even louder then she had been before.

"Stop it. Geeks can hear better than us, its like your firing a gun."

"Horseshit."

"Quit swearing," said Carl just to keep arguing, he didn't really care about her cussing.

" Ookay, mom,"

"If your mom raised you better, I wouldn't have to tell you not too."

That struck a sore spot. Carl knew it would before a wounded expression dawned on her face. To be completely honest, he was glad it hurt.

She couldn't think of how to respond to that. So Sophia started whistling.

Carl waited for Daryl to tell her to shut the hell up. Then she'd feel stupid. Daryl was too focused on the side of the road to hear the noise she was making. He'd seen something. The hunter's stance made it clear that there could be a potential threat.

Deciding to take matters into his own hand, Carl grabbed a fistful of Sophia's hair. The pain turned her obstinate whistling in to a squeal, which barely got out before Carl clapped a hand over her mouth.

The cry alerted Daryl, not warranting the panic reaction it would have gotten before. For one it was short, more of a surprised yip, then a fearful scream. It was also Sophia, so it could just be a bug.

As stupid as it was to try and pull away, her instincts told her too. A few strands of hair of ripped out of her head. She tried to make him let go by swinging a punch, aimed for his face but he moved and she got him in shoulder, least she hit him. Carl responded in kind, giving her a good elbow in the stomach.

He did not believe his eyes. They were fighting, like physically fighting. Were they ever going to quit surprising him?

" Hey," he called.

They paid him no mind and continued to scrap. Sophia was mostly playing defense, while she was trying to get some space she accidently tripped Carl. Ripping even more hair out. He was back on his feet as quickly as he fell, the heat from the impact on the asphalt fanned his temper.

Carl took a new hold of the strap of her tank top. He dodged her punch and landed another Sophia took a page out of his book and grabbed his shirt so he wouldn't be able to evade the next one.

Still dumbfounded, Daryl wondered how many hockey fights they had seen as their hold on each other and seesawing swings mirrored one.

It was time to end this before someone got hurt.

Like a pair of disobedient pups, he pulled them apart by the scruff of their necks.

"That's enough."

It wasn't. Carl pulled against him, the collar of his shirt stretched and tore, the payoff was getting one more hit in. The kid had balls for doing so after Daryl just broke it up.

Daryl switched his other hand from Sophia to Carl, placing it and the previous hand on the front of his shirt. Carl's shoes lifted right off the ground, his back pressed against the back window of a SUV. A bestial display of dominance akin to flipping a dog on its back that Carl could do nothing but submit to.

He couldn't help but let out whimper, mostly out of fear from Daryl's piercing stare.

"Don't ever kid yourself in ta thinking I won't tan yer hide boy," he warned.

His voice turned gravelly and his southern accent came out even thicker. Daryl heard too much of his father in his own voice.

Carl's feet touched back down on the ground, the pressure was taken off the base of his neck.

"She wouldn't'-" he tried to explain his side, once his breathe steadied.

"He -"

"I don't give a rats ass who started it. Its damn well finished now."

Daryl didn't have any corners to stick them in for a time out, they were probably too old for that anyway. So whether they wanted to or not, they were going to take a break. They needed it. They were tired, hot and cranky. Maybe getting them out of the sun would cool their heels.

They moved off the road down a bike path. There were some large bushes for shade where they sat down.

Neither of the kids talked. Their anger had burnt out, leaving behind sadness and guilt. They were best friends or so they thought, why would the other hurt them and why would they hurt the other. Both of the kids felt ready to cry.

The fragile emotional state they were in was not lost on Daryl, however how to deal with it was beyond him.

Her bottom lip felt hot, meaning it was swelling. She poked at it. It felt puffy. She ran her finger over, definitely abnormally shaped. A hand guided her chin up.

Daryl looked at her latest injury. Carl snuck a few looks at her. Each glance made him feel worse.

She didn't like him looking at it, which had nothing to with Daryl. It was her habitual response to people focusing on a bruise or some other kind of inflicted mark on her.

"I'm going to go pick flowers," Sophia made up an excuse to leave.

His knuckles throbbed dully. Carl massaged it lightly with his thumb.

"Came down sorta hard on you back there." Daryl started.

Carl glanced at him for a second, then back down.

"When I was thirteen I got into a fight with this girl, Lindsey Schneider. Gave her a black eye after she called my dad a useless drunk, which he was. One thing my old man could never be called though was a wife beater and he'd be damned if let me or my brother be. Man, the look he gave me when he came to pick me up, I was sure he was going to belt me right in the principles office."

Daryl remembered the very long ride home, which had nothing to do with living outside of town and everything with the pure terror of what his dad was going to do to him when they got there.

"That was one beating I never forgot, one I prêt well deserved too, shoulda known better. Ya can't hit a girl."

_I know. _He thought. Carl was ashamed of how he acted. His parents would be pretty disappointed in him if they were here.

" Unlike me and Lindsey, Sophia did hit ya back, don't think I didn't notice that. But I'm guessing you started it, "

Carl's head bent even lower, affirming Daryl's suspicious that that was he was why Sophia had squealed.

"What'd she do?"

Carl was unsure of how to answer. He wasn't sure Daryl was looking for his side. His reason was dumb to him, it could just get him in

"She was humming and whistling, I thought she was gonna attract walkers," he went with the overlying truth.

He looked over at the older man, by default their guardian, to get a clue if his admission was going to get him another lecture for being just plain dumb or something like it.

"Its good that yer thinking that way." Daryl played with a rock, "but you let me worry about keepin' y'all safe, done a not bad job so far, haven't I?"

"Meh," he joked.

"Meh, whaddya mean meh, you're alive, ain't ya"

Carl took the silence that followed as a sign he was dismissed and went to go pick flowers for his mother or so was his cover, he was going to try and apologize to Sophia.

Daryl watched the pair pick flowers. He tried to lie back on the grass, just enjoy the peace. Never really his type of thing to begin with, right now the peace let his thoughts wreak havoc in his head.

He heard his dad's voice in place of his. It was gnawing away at him.

Daryl thought he had really had something going for him with that newfound paternal instinct he had.

What if it had been a fluke?

What if when Carl had frustrated him back there, those were Daryl's true colors shining through?

What if he was just like his father?

* * *

><p>Their prey was spread out.<p>

The small ones were quiet, grazing in the grass.

Their muscles tensed, readied. They only needed them to move a few more steps away.

"Lets get a move on"

The adult male was on his feet. Something was distressing him.

He had become restless and on edge.

Had he seen them?

Whether he was tired or not, they need to catch him off guard.

Only half the group followed after them. A scouting party only.

The rest would scavenge. Get the strength they would need for tomorrow.

* * *

><p>The sunlight turned to an orange glow, one of its final moments. Daryl did not want to be on the road in the dark, the brief time caught after sunset last night had been stressful enough. They should start find some place to settle down for the night. He kept the plan to himself for a little while longer.<p>

They had all thought today would be the day they got back to the rest of the group. The purple and white daisies they had picked had become a symbol of the confidence of getting home tonight. Now that symbol would wither over the course of the night. Another night on their own.

" I think we better look for a place to spend the night." He couldn't put it off any longer.

They nodded solemnly. They had been waiting for him to say that.

"I'm sorry," Carl's guilt faded, allowing his confidence to step up.

"It's ok,"

"I didn't mean what I said before. It was a pretty big lie actually. " Carl gave her his bouquet. He had been thinking of what to say ever since he had picked them, the hard part now was getting the words out of his mouth. "Your mom raised a graceful and elegant young lady"

She didn't know how to respond to that.

Sophia did a shoulder check to see if Daryl was looking. He wasn't. She threw her arms around Carl's neck. She kissed his cheek before she pulled away.

She tucked two of the daisies, one of each color into her headband. She hung on to the rest.

They were still silent but they walked closer together now.

Carl fought the urge to touch his cheek. It tingled where she had kissed him. His heart skipped steady for fifteen steps.

They were both going through a lot, and there was no easy way around whatever lie ahead of them. They needed each other.

_When you can't run anymore, you crawl, and when you can't do that, you find someone to carry you._

* * *

><p>Author's Note: A little sadder then this story's is use to. Next chapter they definitely get to have some fun (can't be too mean to them)<p>

Thank you to all my brilliant reviewers: Elsyn Kar, writergirl94, 85, sammyjase, Playwithfire97, Lavoisiae, sheena, JesseGlennFan, Morgan-eats-cannibals, kdoggt, kristyd, crimson fingertips, Killerbee77, boschette, twin1, arwen1982, Englund101. 

A special thank you to whoever mentioned this story on the TWD kink meme on live journal.

The song featured was "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack

And the end quote was from the TV show; Firefly (Joss Whedon)

Y'all have no clue how happy you make me


	12. Sophia!

Instant mash potatoes weren't as good as the real thing. They had a funny taste that reminded her of glue but beggars can't be choosers. Sophia twirled some around her fork. She was happy just to have food, though a little instant gravy was greatly missed.

As she stomached the odd supplement she looked around the room. This dining experience at the CDC reminded her of going to the occasional potluck at her families' old church, everyone was talking and laughing. Carl even filled the role of the boy that had to try and drink wine. She surveyed everything all the way up to the rafters. The doctor had said that they were underground. She wondered how far?

Her foot connected with someone's leg on the opposite side of the table.

Sophia's gaze came back down to see whom she had accidently made contact with.

_Frick_, she had kicked Daryl, who was the absolute first person on the list of people-I-don't-want-to-kick, which was basically the same as guys-who-scare-the-bejeezus-out-of-me before it became the same list as people-I-don't-want-to-hurt.

She looked back down at her plate like the pasty potatoes were the most interesting thing in the world to avoid the hick's eyes that were sweeping around her like searchlights. Since when had he been sitting there anyway?

The list only included people who were in the room, Daryl would not be first if it included everyone, her late father would have the top spot, then his friend Wayne or maybe Daryl's brother, Merle who terrified her for really no reason at all. But then again Merle had helped her peel an orange once, and called her a young lady in way that she had appreciated. There wasn't anything she could say about Wayne except that he creeped her out. So Wayne would be second…

Preoccupied, her leg started swinging again as if it had mind of its own.

_Double frick._

"Lori, what the hell?" Daryl protested. His tone scaring off any notion of fessing up.

"Excuse me."

It was Lori's sharp tone that got everyone else's attention and their conversations to watch this one unfold. Sophia glanced up, pretending to have the same what's going on view as everyone else.

"Why ya kickin' me"

"I did not, but if you don't keep a civil tongue I'm going to start,"

She heard his usual scoff but did not see if it was accompanied by the usual toss of his head as her eyes were cemented to her plate.

To keep herself from doing it a third time, Sophia decided to fold her legs up on the chair. Ironically the tip of her toes hit against what could only be assumed as Daryl's shin when she was in the middle of the transition from floor to chair.

Both party's eyes jumped up to each other at the same time.

"Sorry" she admitted guiltily while her insides froze.

"You?" he sounded surprised. "Holy shit, you can reach all the way over here?"

All the way over there wasn't actually all that far, plus his legs were encroaching a bit on her space, but apparently he did not know that she needed that it.

Daryl looked under the table, leaving a hand firmly planted on top to keep from going over, his elbow knocked into his bottle of Southern Comfort, that only he seemed to be able to stand and which Dale moved before he spilled it.

"Put your legs back down on floor for a sec."

Sophia did. She had kicked him three times, it was the least she could do. Though the ankle grabbing almost got him justifiably kicked for a fourth time.

Now the side conversations had ceased to give them the spotlight. Daryl was too absorbed by the fact that her foot could sit up on his knee to notice.

"Good lord, you have long legs girly, like a moose -"

" That's what every girl dreamss of hearin'. " Glenn remarked. His "s's" were very slurred.

"Wha- ow," Daryl hit his head on the edge of the table coming back up, "oh jeez. I was not calling you a moose, Sophia, I wasn't. 'Cause y'know, yer obviously just the daintiest little thing."

That sparked some laughter, it was probably the use of the word daintiest by the very undainty Daryl. However neither of them found it as humorous and simultaneously Sophia and Daryl both went red from all the attention.

"um I'mma gonna shut it now-"

_Thank God, _Sophia thought.

"Never too late for that," T-Dog concurred.

Daryl tried to hit him but they were too far apart. It was a little rowdier than the usual potlucks

"Hey, could you kick him?" Daryl pointed over at T-Dog with his bottle.

Sophia had refolded her knees up under her chin. Shyly she shook her head. She was done kicking people, hadn't been looking to take it up in the first place.

"Ah man, she could if she wanted to. Flipping long ass legs." The amber liquid sloshed back and forth as Daryl moved the bottle to point at Sophia, the color in her cheeks that had just started to fade started to flare back up. "Carol, lemme just say you're going to have to keep a eye on this one."

Her mother's hand on her shoulder interrupted the perplexed look she was giving the redneck.

"I've been meaning to ask if she wants to skip straight to her twenties," her mom sighed.

"Hate ta burst your bubble but that won't help in the least, she'll be all grown in to them then. Tellin' ya not a moments peace."

Sophia wasn't wholly sure what he meant by all that. She just took that her legs were going to get her into trouble.

* * *

><p>Curse her legs sudden but inevitable betrayal.<p>

"Not so fast, not so fast. " squawked Sophia

"Ugh, I can't stand up any slower,"

They stood outside a Holiday Inn hotel, on top of the hood of a car they rolled over and Sophia on Daryl's shoulders. It was quite a sight.

The objective was to push open a slightly opened window on the second floor. Originally Carl had volunteered for the task but it required a few more inches than he had to push the window up and so it fell to Sophia.

"Sophia, ya've been climbing shit all afternoon"

That may be, but the barriers were closer to the ground, were a quite a bit sturdier and definitely did not fidget.

She attempted to stand up, which un-centered her weight from over top of her feet. Instantly getting that feeling she was going to go over, she bent back down, re-centering her weight. Grabbing Daryl's hair to steady herself. She hoped she didn't pull as hard as Carl had pulled her hair earlier.

"I'm gonna fall,"

"No ya won't,"

"uh yeah I am,"

"Well then Carl will catch you, c'mon Miss, where's the trust?"

_Miss, _Sophia had no idea why he had started that. She wasn't quite sure if she liked it or if she was going to tell him to cut it out.

Even though she was as flighty as hell, Sophia did not feel like a bird perched up on his shoulder. Especially when her heel dug in to the shallow part right above his collarbone, which he never thought would hurt like it did. (Thank Christ she took her shoes off, her idea, not his.) He gritted her teeth, knowing if he displayed any signs of discomfort, she wouldn't follow through. Sweet kid, sort of inconvenient though.

Sophia found a way to stand to reach up to the window and keep herself balanced.

The window was sticky but she managed to wiggle it up slowly but surely. Then it reached the half way point and stopped.

"Quit takin' your sweet ass time,"

It was harder to keep still now all her weight was on him. Sure as hell would not complain about the crossbow after this.

"Its stuck."

"Ya see anything?"

His shoulders were starting to get sore and he still had to get Carl up, then pull himself up.

"Nope," she answered squinting in to the room, superimposing a picture of your typical hotel room over the low quality picture in front of her.

"Then get in there and …er…open it from the inside. "

She thought about arguing but since last time she tried, the end result was her standing on Daryl's shoulders. Sophia pulled herself up and tumbled in, landing mostly on her head. She'd have to give Carl a hand so he would not do the same.

With two hands she pushed the window all the way up. Now they were in business.

The backpack of dwindling supplies was enough of drag to make it hard for Carl to climb up. He pushed it up to her. Sophia snagged it and dragged it in by the top strap.

A tingling on the back of her neck caused her to turn around. Not a moment too soon.

"Hurrrgggh" the walker greeted.

"Aaaiiieeee!"

She ran past it, flinging open the door out into the hall. The walker was way too close behind for her to shut the door. Door number four down was locked, so was the one across the way. Trying them took away from her lead and the walker was closing in. Desperate, she shoulder checked the stairwell door. It gave way with a _screech_.

* * *

><p>"Sophia!" screamed Carl. "Sophia!"<p>

Her screaming was growing faint. His voice drowning it out more and more.

"Sophia!"

His grip on the window ledge was strong and determined to stay up. His shoes scrambled along the side of the wall, hopelessly trying to propel him up through the window. His sneaker hit Daryl in the chest. Which may have been on purpose as his arm around Carl's stomach was growing more constricting, trying to force him down.

"Sophia!"

Unfortunately determination wasn't enough and Daryl ripped him off the wall.

Daryl tried to scale it, each time more of a failure then the one before. The _thonk _of him landing on the hood a third time was the only thing they could hear, nothing from inside.

Carl was the first one to hop down from the car as they reached the wordless agreement to find another way in.

Lying right in the middle of the stairs was body. She stepped right in the middle of its torso. A decaying ribcage flexed underfoot, she could feel flimsy muscles contracted as it started to move.

"Ahhh," she screamed in surprise, grabbing the railing to keep from falling down and on to it.

The scream gave the first one, that had followed into the stair way, some more energy.

The second had gotten up. Thankfully walking up the stairs was hard for both of them. The one on the landing, standing by the exit out, didn't have to deal with the task, and it was already standing. She didn't know how she did it but she ducked under its arm, going through the door on to the next floor.

Roused by the heavy slam of the door. Two more walkers started to come down the hallway toward her, ambling quicker than some others. Sophia tried another door. It was unlocked. She shut it behind her, the two walkers crashed upon on it in the hallway.

Before she breathed a sigh of relief, she heard rasps behind her.

Sophia had shut herself in with five walkers.

They came in through a use to be intact before they got there glass door coming off of the back courtyard. They hardly looked at the main lobby; it could have been full of geeks for all they knew. They were too focused on looking for the stairs to get up to the second floor.

To keep up, Carl's gait had tripled. In the second he slowed down, Daryl moved about a meter and a half away.

"Hey!" Carl yelled.

Almost gracefully, Daryl wielded around, crossbow raised. Expecting there to be a walker nearby. It was only the boy standing in the hall, right under a sign for the stairs, beside the elevators he had seen but not connected hadn't even thought about. Carl disappeared before he could even think to say wait.

He caught up with him on the stairs, taking two at time. Both swung around corners as tight as they could. Daryl passed the handgun off to Carl, more so that it'd be out and cocked (which it could not be tucked in his pants), then for the boy to really use.

"Safety's off, not unless you absolutely have too."

He doubted they'd have to use it at all. The layout of the stairs and the upcoming hallway would not allow for them to be snuck up on or have a walker pop up from no where. As long as they kept their heads on a swivel, they wouldn't need the risk speed of a bullet.

"Sophia!" called Daryl as soon as they reached the second floor.

Nothing dead could be seen. Nothing alive answered.

* * *

><p><em>"Don't reenact scenes from Platoon with Charlie Sheen. Get rid of cable" (Yeah its commercial. Love Delta9) <em>

* * *

><p>They were a family.<p>

Sophia stared at the walkers. There was a woman and man, a father and a mother. A young boy and an older one, brothers and they had a sister too. Sophia and this girl stared at each other. They were the same age.

The girl slowly reached out to her. A friendship bracelet hung on the emancipated wrist. Mesmerized, Sophia touched the one she was wearing.

Two of the walkers lunged toward her, jolting time back in motion. Before she could plan it out, Sophia restarted the chase, rushing out on to an indoor balcony. Even though the walkers were coming up on her, her stress didn't cause her in a fluster to break the golden rule. She didn't look down. She looked straight ahead at the identical balcony next to her.

_Alright, walkers lets see you do this._

Climbing up on to the railing, Sophia jumped.

* * *

><p>Neat, cursive numbers mocked him as they searched the second floor hallway. Daryl hadn't counted how many windows their one had been in. He should've done that. But there wasn't really a need to because he never should of told Sophia to go in alone.<p>

Daryl had been lulled into a false sense of security. The hotel looked secure like IKEA had. He hadn't thought that there would be people taking residence here who would've been swarmed.

The hallway told that tale. The rooms with the doors left open were tore apart, bloody handprints and smears vandalized the walls.

In the fifth or so room they checked out. Daryl noticed that view from window was not of the alley they had come in by. Down below, he could not see the green Buick they had pushed over.

"Fuck," Daryl hit the window ledge like it was its fault, "we're on the wrong side."

Fuck was what Carl thought as well, only his thoughts were less on the building.

_Fuck Daryl, what were you thinking? _

If his dad were none of this would've happened. Carl continued to ruminate over every single situation thus far that should've been handled better and would've been if they were not stuck with Daryl. It was beyond anger now. Carl was pissed.

Not quite running, but close. They went back down the hallway until they found the room that Sophia had climbed into. Needlessly they looked in any spot Sophia could be hiding, taking turns calling her name out over and over again.

They moved on. Going from one room to another.

"Sophia"

"Its okay." Daryl said off-handily, hearing how choked up Carl's voice had just become.

He hadn't thought it could get any worse than this, though it could if he had a hysterical kid.

"No its not." Carl hated how his voice was taut with all the anger and anxiety, he was now failing to control. "if you hadn't-"

"Shush," Daryl snapped not wholly because he was going to reiterate the same things Daryl was berating himself for. He could hear something, footsteps above them.

"She-"

"Shut it."

Daryl looked up at the ceiling. Catching on Carl heard the footsteps too.

They flew out of the room, barely avoiding a collision in the doorframe as they ran through at the same time.

There were three walkers clustered on the landing in the stairwell, something must've made them climb up there. Daryl tempted one into coming down, impaling it with his knife.

Two walkers were beating against a door, leading them both to the conclusion she had to be in there. Once more he stabbed the one while putting down the second with the crossbow.

"Sophia!"

They burst into the room.

A figure hurled itself at Daryl from the side. Grappling with it, he managed to keep the walker from sinking its snapping teeth into him, it was all he could do. The crossbow had been knocked out of his hands and he couldn't reach his knife.

Carl grabbed a floor lamp and crosschecked the walker, knocking it off of Daryl, who was then able to dispatch it in the usual way with a knife to the skull. While he was in the middle of that, a child-sized walker was completely batted away with the lamp by Carl, who was watching their backs.

One of the arrows had fallen out of the quiver on the crossbow. Carl dove for it and drove it through its eye while it was still on its back. He didn't think about that, he'd be sick he if did.

Daryl shot one down from across the room. It crashed down on to the floor, right next to Carl.

Only two walkers faced them now. Carl distracted them both by running to the far side of the room before Daryl could stop him. The distraction allowed him to come up behind them.

Both of them were heaving after the fight.

"Sophia" called Carl.

He lifted the bed skirt and looked under, remembering how they had hid from Daryl under a bed last night. That could not be the last time they played together.

If anything good had come of the way they now lived it was how close you could get to someone in such a short amount of time. Carl could not imagine returning back to camp without Sophia. Painfully he remembered their game of make believe where they lived in a magical realm that they played everyday in the forest. After all the adventures they had been on, all the brushes with danger, it couldn't end this way. The elvish princess was suppose to return to her kingdom.

Giving up another needless search, Carl pulled a forgotten bolt out of a walker's skull and harbored the small notion of stabbing Daryl with it.

Daryl took a moment out on the balcony to regain his composure, he had to keep a brave face for the one he still had. The thought did not help because on the flip side it was the admittance that he lost one.

Taking a tally made Sophia's odds look very bleak. There had been five walkers in this room. It had probably been half an hour or maybe longer since she had gone missing. She was alone and helpless.

He pulled out of the shame spiral, it wasn't over yet, and went back into the bedroom suite.

Carl was gone.

* * *

><p>Minutes passed by like hours, while she cowered in a closet in the next room, living her worst fear, being alone.<p>

"…_and I'll come find ya." _

It was only last night that Daryl had said that.

It was only two and half nights ago that Daryl found them on the street surrounded by the dead and made a promise that he would never abandon them.

He'd come find her.

Unnervingly, she could hear all the activities of the walkers. Hopefully they were the ones next door. Sophia hadn't seen any walkers in this room, but they could be just lying around, waiting for something to make them move.

Sophia scrunched up in to a ball, she tried to remember what it felt like when he wrapped up in that blanket, the one that looked like their quilt. Or what it was like to be picked up by him. To be safe.

The closet door pulled back.

"Sophia," a familiar voice whispered.

After spending so long paralyzed in the dark, it took her moment or so to process someone was calling her name.

"Carl"

Sophia hugged him, nearly collapsing. Carl stepped back a bit from the sheer force of her. The shock of finding each other stunned him and caused her to tremble.

There was nothing in particular had led Carl to that room. It was unlocked, that was all. Then as soon as he saw the closet he just had the feeling that she would be in there.

The same pull that had had her throw herself in Carl's arms, tugged at her again when Daryl walked in.

"God damnit, we were screaming your effing name in the next room," he snapped, effectively ending that feeling.

"Shut up," growled Carl. "What matters is she's fine."

_No thanks to you, _Carl came so close to adding.

The dominance display on the road came back to him so strongly he could feel his back being pressed against the SUV was what kept him in check.

Daryl got another look in the mirror, the one that gave him his father's reflection.

"Sorry, just-" he didn't finish the sentence. "I'm gonna go down and check out the lobby. Make sure it's all secure. You two stay up here, I mean, exactly in this spot, don't ya dare move a inch."

Sophia started shaking her head. If Daryl saw the motion, he didn't let on.

" 'Kay, I'll be back in a bit."

"No, " Sophia found her voice and it was panicked. "You can't leave us. You can't, not all alone."

_Not again. _Still watery eyes accused.

"I won't be long. "

Daryl looked to Carl for backup. He didn't get it.

He crouched down, getting on eye level with Sophia.

"You'll be fine up here, ya can lock the door so nothin' can get in. An' Carl will be with ya. "

Her head shook like a bobble head doll the whole time he spoke.

The only thing that would keep her safe was sticking with Daryl. She was not going to be convinced otherwise.

" No, don't leave us, you can't"

She was right. Daryl couldn't leave them with Sophia in this state. She was too emotional, rightfully traumatized by the whole experience and likely to do something stupid if he wasn't around to keep her under control.

" Alright you can come but leave my sight for a second, or if I have to call ya just once, I swear I'll beat the stupid outta ya," Daryl looked directly at Carl while he said it.

One of the plus side if they were with him, he wouldn't have to worry about how they were doing.

Sophia wandered into the next room. The family was dead.

The girl was lying on her stomach. If not for the bloody hole in her skull, it would've looked like she was just sleeping.

Sophia sat down beside the girl.

Who was she?

Did she ever walk to the corner store on a milk run for her mom?

Whoever she'd been, she deserved better.

Carl wanted to follow her in, get her back before Daryl knew. The immobile bodies kept him out. It was strange when they were walkers, he didn't feel anything except fear if they were too close but when they went back to being nothing more than bodies, they became sinister.

"What's she doin'? " whispered Daryl, joining him in the doorway.

They watched her vigil a little while longer. Coming to see that Carl was not going to gather her up. Daryl went in.

"Hey,"

_Please, please don't hit her. _Carl prayed when Sophia completely ignored him.

Sophia untied her friendship bracelet and put around the girl's wrist. The opposite one that Sophia had had it on. That was the protocol her and her friends followed.

She had made this friendship bracelet in the car on the way to the supposed refugee center in Atlanta. She was going to give it to Maddie, her best friend, if she saw her there, which she really hoped for but knew the chances were low. So maybe she'd give it to someone she'd meet at this center.

Daryl walked over to her. The bodies didn't bother him. The shuddering cries from Sophia, the same ones that he heard at night and could do nothing about, did.

Sophia was working on undoing a knot on a bracelet on the walker.

_What the hell?_ Daryl thought, watching timid Sophia roll a dead body.

"Here,"

His buck knife sliced through the thread like nothing.

"Could you tie it?" asked Sophia.

Daryl took the grimy, well-worn handmade accessory from her and she offered him her wrist.

"Wait, its gotta be this one." Sophia switched wrists.

It wasn't in his nature to admit defeat but Daryl doubted that he'd ever be able to understand this one.

The lobby was a grand empty space. Any remaining geeks at this point would be on floors that would go unexplored. They'd find a room to on the empty second floor to settle down in for the night

Off the lobby, there was an indoor swimming pool. The kids eyed it hungrily.

"Can we go swimming?" Carl asked.

He should've have gotten Sophia to ask for as she hadn't been recently mouthing Daryl off or in the hick's term, sassing.

"Sure."

The pair stripped down to their underwear. (Finally there was an up side to wearing an uncomfortable training bra, Sophia thought)

Carl wasted no time and jumped in, cannon balled to be precise.

"Is it cold?" asked Sophia.

"Nu-uh"

It was refreshing. Hours spent cooking on the concrete was gone as soon as his skin was submerged.

Daryl went to work cleaning the arrows. He hadn't done so in a while and he had taken out how many walkers? Good thing he didn't have to hunt.

Sophia was still shook up from her ordeal. Her naturally playfulness was subdued, her eyes always nervously flitting around. Carl was going to fix that.

"What song were you humming before?" asked Carl.

"I hope you dance,"

"Do you want to?" Carl clasped both his hands to hers.

"Want to what?" She asked uncertain, though a small smile twitched on her lips.

"Dance"

Being a half ass lifeguard, Daryl looked up to make sure they were still floating. Carl was carrying Sophia around like they were just married.

Noses touching, they smiled sweetly at each other.

He had seen that kiss earlier. On top of keeping an eye on them for safety and well being, should he also be keeping a whole other kind of eye on them to make sure they didn't _do _anything.

No need to get ahead of himself, they had a ways to go yet. Carl was chasing the girl around with a bug this morning. Clearly this was only innocent puppy love.

"Are you done yet?" asked Sophia.

They were leaning up against the ledge. Daryl didn't answer the question. He thought she was talking to Carl.

" Hey, you. " Carl tried.

"Daaarryylll" Sophia sang.

"What?" he replied taken back by the musical address.

"Are you almost done?"

"Last one. Why?"

" Just wonderin' when you're gonna come in the pool? "

" Ain't"

"Please, please, please, please." They begged in unison.

They figured Daryl could use a cool down too. Mostly though it'd be more fun to play Marco Polo with three people.

"No"

" You know you want to,"

"How do ya figure?"

"Because you are a duck, and ducks love water." Stated Sophia

"Only odd duck 'round here is you, hun." That small paternal instinct he had dug up fired involuntary like a muscle spasms.

They tried the piss him off approach that had worked in IKEA and started splashing.

Daryl got up, only to move to the far back wall out of the splash zone.

"What if we drown?"

" Whoever isn't can save ya"

"What if we both drown?"

"Guess yer fucked then."

They tested this by disappearing below the surface and staying under. Daryl demonstrated his apathy by leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes. Not completely a fake out, the place was humid and he was feeling a little cruddy.

"Why not?" asked Carl.

"Forgot my swim trunks."

"Just come in in your underwear."

"Not wearing any," he lied.

That stumped them.

"Yes you are."

Carl was almost positive he had seen the hint of a waistband on him at one point in their travels.

"No I'm not."

Carl looked over conspiratorially at Sophia.

"Distract him."

They pulled themselves out of the pool, and went to sit as close to Daryl as they could. Dripping wet.

"I think I have a tick." Sophia made up.

While Daryl was combing through her hair, Carl grabbed the arrows and jumped back in the pool. He should've known it was a set-up given how Sophia reacted to insects. If she truly had a tick she would've been flipping the fuck out.

Now he'd have to come in and get them. They thought.

"Well good now, their disinfected. " Daryl got up and walked over to the edge, full well knowing the danger of getting wet. "On another note, get 'em all back up here before you punctured your damn feet."

He didn't know it but Daryl had just found an authoritative parental voice, that didn't scare them but told them no more messing around.

As they could no longer walk on the bottom safely, they moved solely by swimming. Exhausting their limbs, they were going to sleep good tonight.

Daryl stood by the edge and shone a flashlight in the water to help them out. They didn't dare splash him.

Red and orange lines caught his eye. Carl dove under, keeping his eyes open under the water. He fought himself down on to his stomach and scooped it up in his mouth and carried all the way over that way.

Sophia mimicked this and returned another one in the same fashion.

"You're flipping weirdoes, ya know that"

They were going to make him pay for that.

Before he moved back to his spot after they found the last one. Both of the kids hopped out of the water and double-teamed Daryl, dragging him threateningly close.

"Hey no no no no. These are my only clothes. "

* * *

><p>Authors Note: Think they are going to get Daryl in the pool?<p>

Yeah I know I'd said next chapter would be happier, but when I sat down this what came out.

To everyone who has joined in recently, welcome.

This chapter's length was brought to you by: PaganButterfly, playwithfire97, purplerocks13, WalkerScuzzie, writergirl94, Quicksilvermad, melody taylor85, Bluenight23, kdoggt, TheColdFlame, twin1, Morgan-eats-cannibals, xxOrganizedInsanityxx, Englund101, TheHawksRock25, Auds1978, sammyjase, Missy92, SurrealRealism, crimson fingertips, Lightchild12, Mackadukey, but-the-clouds, ms wonderful. A gigantic thank you to all of you

A couple of you have mentioned that I've been doing good with the characterizations. And I sincerely thank you for that. Its so important to me that everyone is acting accordingly. Regarding the kids, I've been adding on to the few things from TV and borrowing from their comic counterparts. Carl gets super toughened up, won't say more but jeez if you think he's getting bad in the show, look out. Sophia, somehow manages to stay a kid. Since she's older in the show, I've just matured that young child sensitivity.


	13. As Good Of Night As Any, Part I

Warning: There is some mature language being used immaturely. You're probably thinking, Delta, Daryl drops the F bomb about every second chapter and you never said anything, this is different, just excessive use of the word penis.

* * *

><p>Daryl dug in his heels. The bottoms of his shoes scrapped against the coarse floor. They were inexplicably determined and even more surprisingly strong.<p>

"Dragging me in will be the last thing y'all ever do," he vaguely threatened.

They didn't believe that it would be their last act on earth and kept on pushing.

"You'll thank us later," said Carl, throwing all his weight against Daryl's back.

"If by thank, you mean beat. Then you're right I'll indeed beat you later,"

Although that threat was more specific, they still didn't believe him and succeeded in moving Daryl another inch closer to the waters edge, forcing him to fight a little harder. In the back of mind he had been thinking he was going to end up crunching one of their bare feet under his boot, the thought lessened as he became more concerned with keeping dry. They could worry about their feet.

Quite unsurprising, Sophia was less aggressive then Carl, he slipped out her grasp on his arm, grabbed Carl, and pitched the boy back into the pool. He flew through the air, droplets landed with patters on the floor when he hit the water.

"No ya don't," Daryl snagged a hold of the second assailant as she tried to get away and threw her back in too. Equal rights after all.

He almost asked whose laughing now, but the answer was they were. They re-emerged giggling between blowing water out of their noses.

And they came back for more. As long he kept throwing them back, they didn't try to drag him in.

Before too long, the front his shirt was damp and clung on to his skin. It took the edge off that crappy, overheated feeling he'd come down with.

The water started to look really tempting.

He was wearing a good pair of boxers.

But he really didn't want to get out of his clothes. Plus he was with a pair of minors, one of which was a girl, it felt sociologically wrong to strip down.

On the other hand, his boxers weren't that much shorter than proper swim shorts. It was pretty dark too, the skylight roof and flashlight gave them just enough light.

Daryl kept the debate in his head while still seeing how far he could throw the children. He looked over to the lobby. He didn't see any reason for him to not go swimming out there. The hotel was a volatile environment; behind one door they were safe, behind another facing down five walkers. It didn't matter where he was, in the pool or out, as long as he stayed with them and watched-

A whip of water hit him in the face and further soaked his clothes. Guess he wasn't watching them enough.

Not wanting to share blame and any repercussions, Daryl looked ticked, immediately Sophia pointed over at Carl.

"Carl Grimes," warned Daryl. Carl looked up at him, taken back. "Yeah, yer ass just got full named so cut that shit out,"

_May as well go in now, _Daryl thought.

Much to the very vocal delight of the kids, Daryl pulled his shirt off over his head.

"You're makin' me feel like stripper," he said undoing his belt.

One of the things that made Daryl different from other adults was his uncensored comments. Even if mostly by accident, he didn't talk to them like they were really young and they liked that treatment.

Daryl felt way too naked for this to be appropriate and regretted his weak willpower. Then he slipped into the water.

The splash had been a teaser for what the pool was like, it was basically what Nestea promised people who liked ice tea on hot summer days. Over the top refreshing. It did start to get chilly when he got up to the middle of his stomach.

Carl and Sophia greeted the new arrival like playful otters, swimming around him in circles. Happily chattering at the same time so he couldn't be quite sure what each one was saying. To be perfectly honest, Daryl was overwhelmed by the hyped reaction. Enough that it showed in the way he held his head, angled with uncertainty and in the way his canines caught on his lower lip. Picking up on it, they gave him some space, swimming over to the farthest wall where they were over their heads and then some.

Daryl got use to the temperature up to his shoulders, and use to the kids and he had a score to settle with the boy.

"Y'know, you really didn't have worry about drowning before," Daryl said cryptically before diving under the water, dragging Carl with him.

A steady force guided him until they touched the bottom.

Despite that it did no good, Carl opened his eyes. The dark water placed pressure on his eyeballs. He wasn't sure what way was up and only knew where Daryl was by his hold on his arm. He blew out through his nose, distorted bubbles streamlined their way past his face. So that's where up was. He went to follow them as his lungs started to panic. But Daryl still had a hold.

Like a fish on the end of a line, Carl started thrashing. Daryl didn't release his catch until the thrashing got wild.

They both kicked off the slick floor. Carl came up coughing and spluttering, his treading too sloppy to properly keep him up. Daryl gave him hand and brought him to over to the wall.

"Ya ok there, buddy?" asked Daryl, patting him on the back. Carl nodded, still coughing. "I know I'm a bastard,"

Carl nodded again in agreement.

"Eeekk" Sophia screeched and started splashing violently.

In retaliation, Daryl placed a hand on her head and dunked her, ending the spastic fit. Carl got his breath back in time to laugh.

"There was a band aid," she explained in a pout, wiping the water away from her eyes.

Daryl didn't see a band-aid but didn't doubt there was one. He grabbed her wrist and looked at the palm of her hand.

"It was your band aid, blondie. "

The welt from the bee sting was gone as far as Daryl could see. While he was doing the final check up on her hand. Carl silently hopped up out of the pool. Only to jump back in right beside, near on top, of the other two, hitting them with a wave.

Carl barely got a breath in before he was forced back underwater. Unlike last time, he was allowed to come back up for air.

_You're free to try again, _the raise of Daryl's eyebrows said playfully.

He tilted his head over to Sophia who was enjoying Carl's pain too much. Carl gave a curt nod.

"Oh no, no, " Sophia backed away, catching on to why they were both looking at her.

Unfortunately she had to swim whereas Daryl could walk and Carl took it upon himself to cut off her retreat, all but pushing her into Daryl. She was locked pretty close to his chest. It did cross his mind that she may not like that so much but she could fight if she wanted to and was being compliant.

Boundaries, both supposed sociological and personal were simply forgotten in the spirit of rough housing.

"What do you think, Carl? Think I should?"

"Yep,"

_Why did boys have to be so mean? _Sophia asked herself.

"Please don't," she begged, being pulled under was unpleasant. "Please, please, please,"

" Do it," Carl egged him on.

Cringing, Sophia preemptively closed her eyes and plugged her nose.

"How could you say that, would ya look at this?"

"Drown her"

"I don't think I can,"

She let go of her nose as Daryl's grip loosened. Right before he pulled her under, she barely had time to close her eyes. "Wait a minute yeah I can,"

That became the whole game. Daryl would grab you, then try and drown you. While it may not be Marco Polo, it was still fun.

"What will you tell our parents if we drown?" asked Carl, coughing yet another batch of water.

"Quit worrying yer pretty little heads, I know CPR."

Over the splashes and squeals, there was a loud thud that sounded like it could have been one of the steel doors, putting them all on pause.

Nothing fresh out of a nightmare lunged at them for once. They shrugged

The stand still had caused their body temperature to drop three degrees and they didn't have the energy anymore to bring it back up. They came to a consensus to call it a night.

The maids of the Holiday Inn had restocked the pool towels before the world went to shit. Sophia took a plushy white towel and mummified a shivering Carl whose teeth were chattering nosily.

"Got warm you up 'afore you attract walkers," she joked, rubbing his shoulders.

Gathering a lot of nerve, Carl pecked her cheek. She pressed her tongue against her front teeth in her smile. He warmed up from the inside out. That was Carl's favorite smile.

The moment was killed in one stroke when Daryl pushed them back in the pool.

"Why?" asked Carl, letting go of the water logged towel.

"Payback, I'm just plain mean and you two needed to cool down."

They didn't get it right a way, when they did, their faces burned despite the fact they were dripping wet again.

"Where's this grey hair?" Carl eyed up Daryl as he toweled off.

"Pulled it," Daryl said. "You ok, Sophia?"

She had froze right in the middle of towel drying her hair with a troubled look that calling her name didn't brush off.

Unless plastic lawn chairs disturbed her (which could be, in his opinion Sophia was a little off), there was absolutely nothing of interest behind him. Her locked gaze was on him. Daryl recognized the all to familiar look. It was the way someone might look at a cancer patient and knew she had seen the scars on his back.

_I know its bad, no need to point it out. _He locked his jaw.

Since they could not throw their clothes over top of their underwear, they took turns changing inside the pool area while the other two waited out just outside the lobby doors.

"Hey, did anyone grab my shoes?" Sophia asked finding her socks in her pocket. She hadn't noticed their absence till now.

"Uh, no, I suppose you need those eh?" asked Daryl needlessly. "We'll go back upstairs to the buick and I'll hop down from there an' grab them,"

"Do you wanna borrow one of mine?" offered Carl.

She wanted to take him up on the offer but if she needed to run she could do so faster in two sock feet and he could run faster in two shoed feet. No time for fun and games anymore.

Going into the stairwell brought back some flashbacks from earlier on for Sophia.

"There's nothing in this one," Carl informed her.

All the same, Sophia held on tight to Carl's hand as they made their way up by feel for the next step. Her other hand slide along the top of the railing, until she saw a lone bloody handprint on the wall, then she grabbed on to Daryl. She got lightly clipped by the corner edge of the crossbow when he turned, it was shocking that she didn't let go, even more shocking was that he never felt her pull back once.

Re-finding the room was easy when it was vividly burned into all their heads, too vividly for Sophia. She lost her grip on Daryl when he pried her off to do a scope of the room.

"Ow," Carl could help but cry out when Sophia squeezed his hand as hard as she could when they entered the room after the coast was deemed clear.

"Be back in a few," Daryl gave Sophia the flashlight, hoping that would keep her calm while he was out of reach, then carefully climbed out of the window.

After he chucked her shoes up, Daryl surveyed the outer shell of the hotel. There was a fire escape six windows to their left, he counted twice to be sure, then locked the number in his head.

Daryl had thought before that it was it was stress keeping him from getting up, turns out he had misjudged the window's height or his ability to jump. Getting up back was near impossible, he managed it but it cost some skin on his fore arm.

Sophia lightly blew on the scratch.

"Whatcha doin', Soph?" asked Daryl, confused but amused.

"Take away some of the sting. I think we have some polysporin in the…" her voice trailed off, as she scanned the area with the flashlight until it rested on a familiar, forgotten backpack.

"Polysporin is useless, if it doesn't burn its not doing anything," said Daryl with true redneck rationale.

They went back out into the hallway, and made their way slowly down the middle, tip toeing by doors that were open.

"Three, four, five," Daryl quietly counted the doors in the hallway.

He opened the sixth door and took a step back. The flashlight jumped around the room. A bathroom and two beds, nothing fancy. He ventured inside, Sophia followed on his heels with a hand still on his shirt, leading Carl inside too. Once Daryl was positive the room was clear, he shut the door and locked it with a soft _click _of the deadbolt and slid the security chain into place for good measure.

"Is six your lucky number?" asked Carl.

"Wish we had some luck. There is a fire escape right beside this window, we can go out that way if need be," Daryl explained his strategic room choice.

_We could do far worst, _Carl thought. Not many people in their group would come up with things he did.

Daryl moved a table out of the way of the window and opened it.

Two storey's was not a fatal fall, however it was a good enough fall to break a ankle. A fatal injury when you're on the endangered list.

The deck of the fire escape was an easy arm's reach from the window. It was well maintained, he reached over and tested the railing, it was perfectly sturdy. The ladder was up and looked intact.

The last inhabitants possession were still in the room. Carl looked in a brown roller suitcase, it was packed with mostly clothes, some toiletries and a tourist souvenirs; a dolphin keychain from the Georgia aquarium, a necklace with some preserved fossil shell from a museum and post cards, lots of postcards. Carl flipped through them, there was the classics like the Golden Gate bridge and Mount Rushmore. There was also a cluster of random roadside attractions.

Sophia gathered up their wet undergarments and went to hang them up in the bathroom so they'd be dry for morning. She ran flashlight over the room before entering. The checkered tiles were pristine, nothing was lurking under the counter or in the glass encased shower. She checked twice.

_The whole room is safe, like the pool was safe._ She told herself.

She closed the lid on the toilet and stepped up on top to hang the soaked clothes on the glass door of the shower.

Something moved behind her.

Out in to main room where they were doing some more looting, Daryl and Carl heard Sophia scream.

Another shadowed figure moved just ahead of her. She was trapped.

She was curled in a ball in the doorframe of the bathroom when they arrived on the scene. It was a mysterious as to why.

Sophia looked over Daryl's shoulder, then hers. There were no walkers. But she had seen them.

_Scream like that again, there best be a walker…_

"They were right. I saw-" she tried to explain to a very annoyed looking Daryl. She pointed behind him. They all saw her "walkers".

Mirrors.

The closest directly across from the bathroom was a mirror and the bathroom had one too.

A traumatized Sophia was jumping at her own reflection.

As if she hadn't been bad enough before, being alone today had exacerbated her anxiety.

_I've wrecked the little blonde one. _Daryl thought with a pang of guilt that kept his anger over yet another false alarm at bay.

After a moment, she came out of her paralysis and went rummaging through the suitcase with Carl.

"It's the world biggest buffalo," Carl showed her an offbeat postcard of a giant buffalo statue.

"This monarch of the plain stands at seven point nine meters high and weighs in at fifty-four metric tons. Think of the size of the prairie oysters" Carl read the back of the postcard. "Prairie oysters?"

Sophia shrugged. Daryl couldn't help but laugh, which gave him away as knowing what prairie oysters were.

"Deep fried buffalo balls," he answered.

"Ewww," Their faces were priceless.

"Nah, with butter and some pepper, they're a delicacy. Speaking of which ya hungry?"

They didn't have prairie oysters. That would've been better for them than what they ended up having; potato chips, some jerky that they found in the room and chocolate bars from their pit stop at the gas station. The kids were literally sugar hounds, Daryl was being to figure, if there was something sweet around, they'd find it. With bellies full of food, they crawled into bed.

"Daryl," a little voice interrupted the all too short silence.

"Yeah, Sophia?"

"If we get swarmed by geeks and get split up where do we go?"

He wanted to be sarcastic and stay in bed but it was an important question and if he could put their minds to rest, they'd rest and then he could rest. So Daryl rolled out of bed and went over to the window.

"Across the parking lot, climb that fence, don't go under it. Geeks probably won't think to do that if you climb it. Then go hide over by that train, maybe find an open car, " he yawned.

Sophia committed a path to the fence to her memory, then from the fence to train cars. She tried squinting to see if she could find an open car.

She was concentrating so hard she was practically twitching. Daryl put a hand on her shoulder, attempting to be reassuring. Sophia was spooked and jumped. If she were a horse, he would've been kicked.

They clambered back into bed, going back to the silence of their own thoughts.

Carl couldn't get comfortable, physically or mentally. He kept thinking about how much his parents were worrying about him when he was as safe as could be right now, how much he missed them.

_Think about something else_, he commanded himself.

"Hey Marcel, you still up?"

She could feel the unsettlement in Carl's voice. It was her turn to be there for him.

"Hey Daryl," Sophia had taken a real liking to saying his name all of a sudden.

"What now?"

"Guess why the bus isn't running?"

"The bus driver's a walker,"

Carl started laughing before she said the next part.

"No, 'cause the bus is a caterpillar and it threw up,"

"What da fuck?" he groaned.

They kept up a hushed conversation.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" asked Carl.

"I don't know, never really thought about it"

"You should, there are ghosts that eat children that make a bunch noise at night," Daryl butted in.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Carl asked him.

"No,"

An image of woman in white standing by the side of a rural road flashed through his mind and chilled his spine. That was a bit of a lie. Daryl had never had confessed his ghost sighting to anyone. It sounded silly, but there was a part of him that couldn't believe it was just his tired mind playing tricks.

Nowadays there was no saying what supernatural myth was impossible.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" Sophia asked Carl.

"I think so, I mean if angels are real, then ghosts could easily be,"

As if they had summoned one, a flash of white flew over and hit them. They shrieked then started laughing. It was a pillow.

They kept on whispering. Daryl couldn't be sure about what and didn't care.

"What ya make go to sleep?" Daryl asked when they got louder.

"Maybe if you told us a story," suggested Sophia.

"I don't know any."

"Make one up."

"Once upon time, there was a prince. An' one night he was lying on the floor-"

"Why was he lying on the floor, didn't he have a bed?"

"He hurt his back at work and that helps-"

"If he was a prince, why did he have to work?"

"Alright, he hurt it playing polo. So the prince was lying on his floor-"

"Lame." Carl interjected

"sshhh, it gets good. The prince's floor was this shag carpet-"

"I don't think princes have shag carpets in their castles." Sophia was apparently an expert on princes.

"Oh my lord, I never said he was rich, he was prince of the trailer park."

It took a second for Daryl to remember where he was going with this.

"Anyway, while he was down on the floor, he noticed that the carpet was covered in hair and dirt, just looked like it hadn't been vacuumed since 1985 and the prince began to wonder if he was going to get a respiratory condition from this carpet. So he dug his vacuum out-"

"Where are his servants? He just sounds like a regular dude." Carl knew a little something too.

"His servant was off chasing tail and getting high. Now are you going to let me tell the story or not?" Daryl picked up, for the th time. "The vacuum was too much of a draw on the shoddy electrical system and it blew a fuse. Unfortunately the fuse box was in the back of a giant closet, and he couldn't see it because it was too dark an' no he didn't have any flashlights, he lost 'em all. "

"Ya know what the prince did then, with nothing to do and stuck in the dark? He went to sleep. Moral of the story is. Go. To. Sleep,"

They went quiet. Then:

"Was that a true story?"

They tried to go to sleep, and Daryl really thought they were but again they were unable to keep quiet for long.

"I'm bored," said Carl.

"We could play the penis game,"

"No,"

"Aw, please. You could start."

When they were waiting for dinner at camp once, Sophia, Eliza and Louis started playing the absurd game, while Carl enjoyed being a spectator, too scared of his parents hearing him to participate. The only thing Louis won was getting yelled at by his mother in Spanish. His parents weren't here though.

"Penis," Carl whispered, very quietly, he was trying the word out for the first time.

Sophia couldn't believe he said it, nor could she keep her giggling contained to an audible only to them level.

"Sophia… Sophia whatever your last name is, shush"

"You don't know what my last name is? Ouch"

"It starts with r or a f, or a p, sounds French. What is it?"

" Not telling. You made me a sad panda,"

" 'kay whatever that means. I wouldn't know Carl's if it wasn't for Rick introducing himself right before telling me he left my brother handcuffed on a roof. Kinda hard to forget."

"Are you still mad at my dad?" asked Carl.

He had been wondering earlier, since it came up may as well ask.

" Mad 'bout at a lot, right now it's that I'm ain't sleepin',"

Although he never answered the question, it was easy to tell that he was still angry about that. It made Carl nervous, not for himself but for his dad. Daryl had a temper.

"Penis," said Sophia, evaporating all tension on their side of the room.

"Penis,"

"Penis"

Carl was slightly nervous about the level he had to go to beat Sophia, but that was part of the fun of the game.

"Penis,"

Did Daryl hear that right?

Sophia took a short, deep breath.

"Penis,"

Oh God, he had heard right. What in the world had he done in this life or a past life to deserve this?

"Penis,"

"That's it," growled Daryl.

Guess Carl won.

Instead of separating them, Daryl sat between them. He was going to make them lie still and quiet until they went to sleep.

"Are we playing the quiet game?" Carl asked.

"Yes,"

The kids participated for a bit.

"I lose"

"Me too, "

"New game, it's a lot like Simon says, its called Daryl says and there is only one rule which is be quiet and if you ain't, you get flicked in the ear. "

"We should play I spy," Carl had to see if that would indeed happen.

Daryl carried out his threat. It only stung for a second.

"The angle was bad, I can do better,"

"I spy-"

Sophia scrunched herself down. She still got flicked.

"Something that is-"

Carl ducked under his pillow.

"Get up here and take it like a man," Daryl lifted the pillow.

When their ears started to get sore, they stopped provoking him. Unable to feed each other energy, they went to sleep.

Daryl just about thanked God for it as if it was a miracle that they gave into what he knew had to be exhaustion.

The next challenge would be him.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: "I'm Home" yells Delta9,<p>

So the reason the last chapter was so long was because I knew there was a low chance of me updating because when I start going with this, it's all I want to do and I put off everything and I had 4 papers to write, then exams but all done now.

Many special thanks to **TripleLLL** who recommended this story on The Walking Dead forum on Television Without Pity . com,

Many thanks to everyone who reviewed, whether it was early or late, you got me through a very long month, Mackadukey, ms wonderful, PaganButterfly, Lucifer's Garden, rebecca taylor (2x), Killerbee77, TheColdFlame, playwithfire97, Missy92, doglvr228, kdoggt, Morgan-eats-cannibals, colourful spectrum, Auds1978, writergirl94, TripeLLL (5x), twin1, sammyjase, but-the-clouds, Kountry101, griffin1776, England101, sheenagami, Akua, jemlou, Little Karma, slim-chance17, Rat, Dannie Tomlinson, 

I was going to keep this a secret but as jemlou and Akua have asked, I can't contain it, there will be another chapter with the rest of the group. A whole chapter in fact, which moves beyond what the mothers are going through to how the rest of the group is dealing with this. Working on it as we speak, so I hope you enjoy it.

No more gaps like this I promise.


	14. As Good Of Night As Any, Part II

His back was pressed tight against the wall so nothing could grab him as he pulled up the drawstring up on the crossbow for the hundredth time that night alone. His arms had become toned from lugging the heavy weapon constantly during the last couple weeks and tired less as a result.

Daryl peered around the corner. All the geeks were moving toward the sights and sounds of gunfire yards away. Since he was going to move in the opposite direction, it could not be more perfect. He'd run into some slower geeks sure, stragglers that had gotten left behind. He'd be in good company. That's what Daryl would be too, a straggler who had gotten left behind.

Better he cut ties with them then let them do it first. A stab of guilt and unease hit him as he thought of his brother. Daryl may not survive if he waited around for them to do it.

Two small figures stood out in the crowd of walkers. It was the two kids from camp, the Grimes' son and Carol's daughter.

Daryl kept waiting to see if anyone was with them. From the looks of it, there wasn't. They ran off to the side of the house, out of sight. Maybe there was someone over there.

He looked down the street in front of him, on the opposite end of everyone. His path was clear. He couldn't have asked for a better opportunity. Daryl bit down on his bottom lip in agitation. Maybe wasn't going to cut it. He had to make sure Carl and Sophia got to someone. He turned his back to his planned route to go after the kids.

At first glance of the area, Daryl didn't see them. On a double take, he saw two figures lying as flat as possible on the ground. Before he could question if one was hurt, they sprung up and ran about five steps to hide behind a car.

It was obvious they were making a run for the end of the street, back to their parents. They were being smarter about it than he would've thought they would be.

A geek very abruptly changed directions and started determining making its way to the car. A well-aimed arrow dropped it before they even knew they had been in danger.

They moved from behind the car and went another ten steps, then flattened down on the ground again. Daryl followed behind as an unknown shepherd, urging them on wordlessly and taking down any walker that came within a seven meter radius.

The children stopped running and stood right in the middle of the street and everything going on. He looked past them to stare at what they were looking at. The end of the street was packed with walkers. The only way back to the others was to go right through the mob. They'd be torn to pieces and from the way their shoulders sagged and how they huddled together against that horrifying backdrop of the shuffling dead, they knew too that they would never make it.

Someone had to take them somewhere where they'd be safe until their parents came back to get them.

All this time Daryl had been thinking that there was going to be someone else who would swoop in and take care of them. There hadn't been someone else yet and there wouldn't be.

He was the only one who could reach them.

* * *

><p>His neck was beginning to get sore from the way he had it resting back against the headboard.<p>

It takes approximately seven minutes for the brain to fully fall asleep. Daryl was unsure why he had logged that information away, but it came in handy. For good measure he waited for what felt like eleven, maybe even twelve minutes before he went to get up.

When he pushed himself off the bed, Daryl must've tugged her hair because Sophia jolted awake with the sound of a stepped on kitten.

_Shit, _Daryl cursed.

Sophia sat up though her half-lidded eyes never fully opened. From what he saw this morning she woke up slowly. It should be easy to get her back to sleep without her even knowing she had ever been awake.

"Sssshhh. Back to sleep," he said quietly.

She responded with a soft, choked mewl.

_In the name of all that is holy, don't you start crying. _Daryl begged.

"Hey now, there's nothin' here and if there is anything, an' that's huge if, I'll kill it."

That had to be the greatest don't be afraid of things that go bump in the night speech ever, if he did say so himself.

"Yer safe. I swear on my mother's grave,"

Sophia gave louder whine and straightened up a little more. Guess he had gotten too cocky. Mother's grave, what an awful picture to be putting in her head.

Even though it didn't pan out well last time, Daryl put a hand on her shoulder and eased her back down on the pillow. Sophia shuffled closer to him, so much so her head was almost resting on his leg.

The girl still looked on the verge of tears. At loss on how to comfort her and even more scared of completely setting her off by saying something wrong, Daryl kept his hand on her shoulder.

The silent _I'm right here _of his warm hand smoothed away the wrinkles on her young forehead. Second by second Daryl watched her fall back asleep and breathed a cliché sigh of relief. He may also have looked at his palm like it was magic.

In order to get off the bed without disrupting either one of them, especially with the way Sophia was crowding him, Daryl had to pull himself straight forward. The action required heavy usage of his stomach muscles, which he didn't know were weirdly sore. Sitting at end of the bed after stressing them, he looked over his shoulder at the two kids as he rubbed the achy muscles.

"Damn brats," he muttered.

Daryl crawled into the crisp sheets. It was funny how the few movements between beds had woken him up completely. He lay there for the longest time with his eyes shut. Eventually it felt moronic to be laying there with his eyes closed and the concentration it took to keep them that way was keeping him awake, he opted to stare off into the mostly black space of the room.

Was there some furniture warehouse store where hotels and motels all bought their stuff? Daryl pictured rows and rows of shelves full of the telephone sitting on the nightstand.

He had seen that telephone in every motel. He wouldn't forget that stupid generic telephone. It was the same one he got the call on that Merle had overdosed and was in critical condition.

Daryl stared at that phone until he swore he saw a red light blink.

_Rrrring. Rrring. _

He must of fell asleep and dreamed that he heard a phone ring, that was easier to admit he may be losing his mind a little. There could not be a phone call. For one there was no service and for another, that whole world was over. There was no danger of Merle taking on more drugs than a human being could handle. Instead he was God knows where with only one hand, that could have gotten nasty infection.

If only Daryl had went on the supply run to Atlanta. None of this would of happened if he had stuck by his brother. The game trail he had found could've waited a day or he could've found another one later. He had been so antsy to get out on his own for the night, was so willing to do anything to get away everyone. It was selfish and it cost them both.

_Toughest asshole I ever met. _ Daryl reminded himself what he said to the others.

Or he was dead.

_Smooth move shithead, now you'll never go to sleep._

* * *

><p>Carl had never been asleep.<p>

It happened so fast that he hadn't had time to comprehend it. Now he had endless hours to think.

_It was a little boy, _a nasty thought hissed.

Carl had killed a walker for the first time ever. In a sick way he had always wanted to, show that he could protect the group. Now that he had, Carl wished he didn't. It had been a little boy once. Or was it? At one point did the walkers stop being people?

Sophia rolled over to his side of the bed and curled herself in to ball right next to him. If he nudged her away, she'd start hogging the blankets so Carl did nothing about it.

The boy had to be no older than six year old and Carl rammed an arrow right in to his skull, popped his eye like it was a grape.

_It wasn't a little boy, _he repeated over and over again.

He heard the crick of springs as Daryl got up and then the undoing of a zipper as he dug in to the backpack. There wasn't a sound to tell him what he took. Carl heard him walk across the room

Did Dad ever feel bad when he put a walker down? Did Shane?

Carl really doubted that Daryl did. The man disposed of walkers like it was his day job.

_What if I'm the only one who feels bad? _His thoughts escalated, _What if I'll never be strong?_

The thoughts in his head were twisting Carl's entire core tighter and tighter. He got out of bed and over to the open window. Daryl was sitting on the small balcony of the fire escape, occasionally throwing his head back to drink from a bottle. He didn't notice Carl. It was just as well, Carl didn't know why he had come over. He definitely wasn't going to tell Daryl why he couldn't sleep.

"Ya want to come out here?" asked Daryl.

_How did he know I was here? _ Carl asked confused. He hadn't seen Daryl look over at the window once.

"Yes,"

Carl pulled himself half out of the window and stood on the ledge. Carefully he reached over and grabbed the top of the railing.

"Hold up there," Daryl stood up, listing over a bit. He grabbed Carl under the arms and hauled him over the side guard. Carl could smell booze on him before he read the label on the bottle, Jack Daniels. So that was what he got out backpack.

"Thank you," he mumbled, though he didn't mean it. He could've done it himself, he only needed sometime to think about his next move.

Being picked up touched a nerve. Carl was always one of the smallest boys in school. It had to be his biggest insecurity. At the end of the world, he was still the smallest.

"Believe it or not, I was runty kid," said Daryl. Apparently Carl's displeasure didn't go unnoticed.

Carl didn't say _Really? _It did flash through his mind. It was difficult to picture Daryl as a kid to begin with, let alone being on the small side. Nothing about the man was runty now.

"But its not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of fight in the dog. Remember that."

That statement was a little odd and concerning as Carl watch Daryl took another hit from the whiskey bottle.

"Don't worry I'm not gonna get shit faced," drinking had not hindered Daryl's ability to read minds. "Just a night cap, try and get myself to sleep. You wanna give it a go?" Daryl offered the bottle.

Carl took it and looked at it for second, then snapped his head as he had seen Daryl do, taking a bigger mouthful than he intended. He knew it wasn't going to taste good, He didn't expect it to burn.

Carl gagged, spitting some of the whiskey up. Daryl doubled over laughing so hard.

"That'll put some hair on your chest," Daryl was still laughing.

"Or maybe a treasure trail," Carl said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. "Any other place I can expect to grow hair?"

"Mmmm, everywhere."

Daryl took another swig from the bottle. It made Carl feel better when he grimaced a little.

The night was warm, like the darkness held all the warmth of the day. Carl looked out. Looked out at what he couldn't say, it was only black. He liked to think that off in the not too far distance, Mom, Dad, Shane and everyone else were sitting around a small campfire. Every once in awhile one of them would look back towards the town and from across that not to far distance they were looking right at each other.

"Hey you know how to play red hands?" Daryl nudged him. Careful to avoid the hole where the ladder was, Daryl moved to sit in front of him and laid his hands out flat, "Its easy, put your hands under mine,"

Carl hit the top of Daryl's hands before he got his mouth open to explain the rest. He knew the game, just not by the name Daryl called it.

"Where did you learn CPR?" asked Carl.

"First aid course I had to take for my job,"

"What did you do?"

"Technically old job. I use ta work as a roughneck out on the oil rigs."

"Did you like it?"

"Yeah I did. The pay was decent, though sometimes seemed underpaid. I really liked it, was a good fit for me."

Daryl went on about specific instances like the extreme weather that sunk heavy trucks in the mud, agonizing eighteen hour shifts that ended with Daryl so out of it he showered with his clothes on.

"…Eddie hops out of the pumper. 'Is it dead?' he asks, I'm thinking there is no way this moose survived, there is a five foot trail of blood and clumps a hair an' tissue from it to the fender. Have ya ever smelled fresh road kill?"

"Ugh yeah." Carl flipped his hands up and smacked the tops of Daryl's.

"yeah it was starting to get that smell. But this damn thing gets up, don't know how 'cause all of its legs were broke. It ran away on stumps," Daryl put the game on pause to illustrate how this moose ran away with the second joint of his fingers. "Couldn't get far obvious, I caught up with it and put it out of its misery. It was too damaged by accident for the meat to be good but got me fine pair of antlers."

A month ago, that story would have disturbed him. Now he laughed picturing a grizzled, walkerish moose trotting along on its knees.

_I have gotten stronger, _Carl realized with a swell of pride.

He hit the top of Daryl's hands for the third time in a row. Reliving these glory days distracted Daryl more and more from the game.

"I was maybe going to go up to Alaska and work up there for a few months, thought it'd be cool to see y'know? I've always wanted to see the northern lights,"

"Why didn't you go?" Carl asked when Daryl drifted off and didn't pick up again.

"My old man's health took a nose dive, not long after Merle was discharged from the army and came back all fucked up, I had to look after those two, I couldn't be hours away out on a rig, let alone in a different state at the end of Canada."

"That really sucks,"

"Ah I couldn't leave Georgia anyway, get too homesick. Just a pipe dream, I s'pose."

The very evident bitterness in his voice made more than an empty pipe dream.

"Last shift I pulled was on New Years Eve. Began the next year fixing up the old John Deere and farmed till the bitter end " Daryl concluded as if he had told his whole life story.

He didn't know Daryl from Adam so to speak. In this chapter in his mysterious life beforehand, Carl found something quite unexpected he and Daryl had in common. Family. It meant a lot to Daryl. It was sad it sounded like he didn't have much of one.

"What about you? What did you do?" asked Daryl, pulling his hands away before Carl got him again. They switched up positions.

"I didn't have a job,"

"Slacker."

"I had to go to school," Carl watched his hands, ready to pull his hands back as soon as Daryl so much as flinched. "I played baseball since I was eight,"

"Take it you liked it,"

"Not at first, my parents made me do it for the first year, help me make some new friends," Carl kicked himself for saying that, he didn't want the older man thinking he was a loser. "We won divisionals last year, the paper put our picture on the front page. I even got a home run"

"Nice,"

Carl was getting a little cold and tired, he hid it as much as he possible could. He liked swapping stories, made him feel like one of the guys.

"You won't tell my parents I hit Sophia, will you?"

"As long as you don't tell 'em I tried to drown you. "

"Fair enough but if you do, I'm also going tell them you let me drink,"

_I have you, _Carl thought with a smirk.

Daryl meet Carl's smirk with a cooler one of his own.

"Then I'll tell them that you two keep kissin' each other,"

Carl went so red he glowed.

"Yeah, thought so."

* * *

><p>A border of hieroglyphic like lines was the first thing Sophia saw when she opened her eyes. It took her a minute or so to figure out the unfamiliar room and how she had gotten there.<p>

Everything had piled up in her mind. Literally everything in the world, she missed how it use to be. When she could walk down the street and wouldn't have to worry about being eaten.

Not like the world before had been completely peachy. Sophia remembered the fights in her house. In the silence of the night she heard her father's voice screaming as if he was out in the hallway and she was hiding her bedroom like always.

Tears started to roll in cold wet lines from her eyes backward to her ears.

In a way the world hadn't changed. They may not have eaten each other but people had always hurt each other. She thought of herself, Mom, and before she knew it Sophia was crying over the scars on Daryl's back. Someone had cut him so deep he'd never fully recover.

That's why he only knew how to be rough. He had been taught to be that way like Sophia only knew to be afraid when she was around men. They were broken.

_It's not fair! _Forgetting her place, she didn't try to stifle herself as she had the other nights.

Something tugged the blankets out of her hands, scaring the hell out of her. It was only Carl. She had yards of the blanket pulled over on her side of the bed. She threaded some over to him. Looking at her best friend's sleeping face calmed her.

_Scritch. _

She bolted upright.

_Scritch. _

It sounded like nails against wood.

"Carl," she shook him, "Carl,"

Carl didn't budge. Sophia listened hard. It was probably nothing.

_Scritch _

If it was something she had to wake up Daryl. Sophia swung her legs off the bed but couldn't find the courage to put her feet back on the floor.

_What if there's a walker under there, trying to scratch its way out? _ Sophia thought, quickly pulling her legs back up on the bed.

Fear made it too far of a walk. Sophia jumped across the beds, tripping over something at the foot of the other. With a startled yip, she fell off the bed. Whatever she tripped over came down on her.

_Fricking crossbow! _Sophia cursed out the weapon, untangled the strap from around her leg.

Once free she wasted no time, jumping up onto the bed.

Since she was still unsure if there was anything, she only lay down behind him. Sophia would wait for a bit, no need to wake him up yet.

Sophia touched the back of his shirt, wondering if she could feel any of his scars. Through the fabric she couldn't. Slowly she started hiking up the back of his shirt. Daryl didn't move an inch. Lightly she traced her fingers down his shoulder blade.

Even in the dark, the scars didn't hid. Sophia could feel raised, bumpy strips of skin. Her fingertips would run down one but quickly find another line. It was the Braille of abuse.

_Who did this to you? _Sophia began to get choked up again.

In the nick of time, Sophia dodged the knife. The buck knife plunged full hilt into the pillow instead of her chest. Tiny downy feathers spilled out.

Daryl grabbed her by the throat, crushing her windpipe.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Somebody's got some 'splainin' to do.<p>

(V) (;,,;) (V) (flips the coffee table and side steps around the room)"woop, woop, woop."(that was Zoidberg from Futurama) Thank you so much everyone, you're all amazing and I can't thank you enough. Englund101, JesseGlennFan, ms wonderful, RynnZekioZusha, Dannie Tomlinson, griffin1776, LeanneDaseyLover, Missy92, writergirl94, Auds1978, WalkerScuzzie, but-the-clouds, Little Karma, Rat, bluenight23, kdoggt, jemlou, Kountry101, Lucifer's Garden, Rebecca taylor, twin1, DreamOn97, PsychoBlonde 

The moose story was based on a true story that my dad told me when I was about twelve.

You may have noticed I changed my profile picture, it's a part of a larger picture which has something to do with what's coming up

So here's how you get the bigger picture: go to Google, click on images and search: The Walking Dead Issue 6 cover


	15. Every Reason To Believe That

Six days. When they watched the sunrise from the same spot every morning, it was hard not count the days they spent searching.

Andrea, T-Dog and Glenn hopped out of the Cherokee, spotting the car in the parking lot of a post office, the starting point for their new search quadrant.

"Hey Dog, got the keys?" asked Glenn.

"Yep, it'll be here when we get back," T-Dog jingled the keys.

Despite the fact that the apocalypse had gone down, every time that they left the keys in the ignition, the vehicle got stolen. (See the cube van back in Atlanta and Daryl's truck during the ambush.) It had become something of a joke in the group.

They began walking down the back alley marked 2nd avenue. They were going to walk to the back of their designated square along the perimeter and gradually work back to the start.

With each passing day, the search grids became smaller and the routes in them became more complex.

Once they ran out of things to talk about, inane topics like favorite movies, and day jobs, which included many stories of Glenn's misadventures in pizza delivery.

They talked about the only thing to talk about. The likelihood of finding Carl and Sophia, and the chance that they were with Daryl.

"Glenn, you're the one who said it. What do you think?" asked Andrea.

"I said it to comfort them. It seems likely though right?"

It had done that. Carol, Shane, Rick and Lori clung on it like a life raft in the middle of the Bering Sea. He could see in their eyes each morning before they headed out.

_We'll find them today, _they always seem to say to each other.

"I don't know," Andrea seemed less optimistic.

"Why wouldn't he have?" Glenn hated the idea that he had given them false hope.

"It was a big neighborhood," T-Dog said quietly.

He didn't say anything about the mob of starving walkers that had consumed the place. They all thought about the crowd of decaying faces that was their last sight of Wiltshire Estates.

"And did you see Daryl's face when we were talking about leaving the quarry, he obviously didn't want to go. I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't show up at Fort Benning, that was when we were all together on the road let alone if he got separated from everyone. He might've just took off and not even seen them," said Andrea.

"But if he saw them?" Glenn persisted.

Andrea looked from Glenn to T-Dog. She had some interaction with Daryl, mostly to indirectly pull Amy from him who had a crush on him. Thankfully Daryl kept to two places that Amy wouldn't follow; in the bush or engaging in general jackassery with his brother, who Amy at least had the common sense to stay away from. (Though Andrea was pretty sure Merle had said something to install such common sense.) That wasn't enough to know what kind of person Daryl was though and what had happened with Merle in Atlanta had definitely been a game changer for his relationship with the rest of them.

"He'd take care of them," said T-Dog.

"Yeah he would," Andrea agreed.

He may be a jackass but it was hard to believe that he would leave two children to die.

The wind kicked up and played with corner of Glenn's plaid shirt, exposing the handgun he had tucked away. Quickly he crossed his arms to keep the thin garment down. Andrea couldn't know he was carrying a gun. She wasn't allowed to have her gun because of her episode during the final moment of the CDC. To keep her from putting up a fight, Rick or Shane had told her only those who were experienced could carry. In their search party that was T-Dog. However Glenn had earned his stripes unofficially during the attack at the quarry, he just had to keep his stripes a secret.

As nonchalantly as possible, Glenn tried to move the gun from his hip to his back without fully taking it out. Since he did not have a sly mode, Andrea caught him in the middle of it every time. So he would cover up to by pretending to scratch.

"Do you need some lotion?" asked Andrea after the tenth time.

"Just some uh bad skeeter bites," Glenn blurted.

Andrea gave it a moment of consideration but didn't ask where Glenn could've gotten so many bites since the heat wave had quelled the mosquitoes.

He shouldn't have taken a gun. Glenn gave up trying to move it and kept his arms crossed firmly, hoping she wouldn't ask why as he couldn't say he was cold. Lying was difficult.

They didn't see any walkers until little over half way, there was a large group of them in an alley. While it was a good thing for anyone staying in the area because it might mean the walking dead had migrated out, with small, localized mobs here and there. It was a bad thing for the search because it blocked that sector off.

Some were sitting or lying around, for safety it was assumed that they were still mobile, they could be dead dead but you wouldn't want to get in there and find out different. Five walkers were trying desperately to get something at the bottom of a dumpster.

The cluster served as a reminder as to what was lurking and the three were quiet to not draw attention.

T-Dog found himself remembering how Glenn, Daryl and himself had made the very best of a completely dire night with sharpies, a lot of alcohol, and each other's company at the CDC.

"_C'mere for a sec, me and you have something to work out." _ Daryl's voice echoed in his thoughts.

Living in the great state of Georgia, the Dixons were far from the first racist rednecks T-Dog had met. When he was young, he use to fight with the best of them. When he became more mature, T-Dog normally ignored such them and later laughed about it with his buddies as the rednecks were normally not any better off than the inner city African Americans they thought they were above.

Now that he had to deal with the world going to hell, T-Dog had no patience left to put up with the insecurity of rednecks, thus allowing the Dixons to get completely under his skin. It was mainly Merle but Daryl was no innocent. T-Dog would never have believed it would be possible for him to get along with Daryl.

"_...I can be a decent guy when I try, and I'd wouldn't do anything to ya. You can ask anyone back in my hometown. Even my old neighbor an' I accidently ran over her cat…" _A paraphrase of Daryl's explanation to another missing survivor.

"Glenn, how much do you remember of the night at the CDC?" asked T-Dog.

"About two hours after dinner. Maybe not even that." answered Glenn sheepishly. "Why?"

"Just wonderin' if you remember when Daryl had a one sided, five minute conversation with Sophia on how he'd never hurt her. " (Oh cruel irony.)

"Damn, wish I could remember that,"

"Yeah, Gave her a hug too."

"What?" asked both Andrea and Glenn at once.

"How did she handle that?" Andrea asked.

They didn't know much of Carol and Sophia's back story but from what they saw during Ed's time at the quarry theirs was a sad one.

"She tolerated it but didn't looked too please, probably 'cause good ol' Dixon reeked of booze."

That started a new conservation about what will always be known as The Night At The CDC.

"I remember sitting in the rec room talking about how I always thought self aware computers would always be the end of the human race and also about living with women," said Glenn

"…you told us a Korean story of a princess who turned into a fox, it gave me a freaky dream about woman that was half fox," said T-Dog.

"Don't put that on me, Daryl was the one making fox noises."

"Which you started him doing after you couldn't make them right when you were telling the story,"

Glenn stopped in the middle of an intersection. What stood out to him were the untouched shop windows of the Salvation Army tucked off to the corner in the midst of a looted plaza.

"I know if I were spending days here I'd be in a place like it," said Glenn, hoping he could convince the others to want to check it out.

Their search grid was sixty percent complete and they had found nothing. Glenn desperately wanted to go back with something.

They entered the thrift store very cautiously. Hands on weapon hilts, gun or in Andrea's case, a machete, they split up and scoured the store for any hint of people taking refuge there.

Andrea walked through the maze of clothes racks. Something rustled through the up for adoption shirts with the chime of coat hangers.

"Carl. Sophia." She called out quietly, bending down to look.

A walker in a Starbuck's smock popped out of the shirts. Andrea backed up, knocking over a clothes rack with a loud crash. Before she hit the ground, she ripped her machete out of its scarab, looked in its yellowed eyes and to a swing, and another and another until it was still on the tile.

"You alright?" T-Dog asked, giving her a hand up to help her avoid slipping in the blood that was leaking from the walker's butchered head.

Before she caught her breath. A second walker clad in a scarf and a V-neck lunged at them. It came so close to Andrea that she could see the fine, little hairs that made up its a pencil line mustache.

_BLAM! _

It dropped down on to its coffee shop companion.

Glenn lowered his smoking gun with a small apologetic look at Andrea. She

"I'm done with this," she said, walking out of the dead end store.

* * *

><p>Nothing in his life had ever made Shane hate his career so much. He knew too much. He couldn't help but have the statistics and every detail about missing children cases that he had been called out on or heard about in his head.<p>

72 hours and they were doubled that time now. You had 72 hours. That was before the dead had risen to eat the living. Shane didn't want to do the math on their survival odds now.

While they clung to the hope that Carl and Sophia were with Daryl, Shane couldn't help but think that Daryl would've brought them back days ago.

Shane threw off all the pessimistic facts. That absence allowed for memories to move in to his mind.

He had held Carl when he was a mere two hours old. He wasn't even called Carl yet. Whatever he would be known as didn't matter, it was love at first sight.

Two years down the road, he happily helped the Grimes' move into their new bungalow that was a hop skip away from his condo. Where Carl went when he ran away after his parents said that he wasn't allowed to have a dog.

Two years from that, he babysat Carl while Rick and Lori had a much needed date night seeing some old band in the next town. They spilled grape juice on the new carpet in the living room, Shane tried every stain remover that was in the house but nothing lifted it. Carl suggested that they move the barcalounger over it, where it still sat to this day.

For Carl's last birthday, Shane gave him a water gun and that spurred the biggest water fight the neighborhood had ever seen. It is still a heavily debated who had won the war, Shane and his band of young warriors or Rick and his rabble of misfit neighborhood children.

A couple of weeks ago, Shane thought he said goodbye to his best friend. The scene at his hometown hospital was beyond horrifying; the screaming, the shooting of doctors, nurses, anyone who got caught in the crosshairs, and then the first good look he got at the walkers. It was Carl and Lori that kept Shane from opting out after he saw all that.

How could he go on now? What would be the point of it? If you didn't have family in this cruel new world, you didn't have anything.

_Focus! _Shane snapped at himself.

The answer to the question was that he had to go on for Rick and for Lori. They had lost their son and he needed to be strong for them. Hell, he needed to bring Carl back and to have a shot at that he needed to be present, actively looking, not off in a billion moments in the past.

"We've been here twice before, right? " Rick asked slowly, his blue eyes flitted around the neighborhood as if he'd never seen any of it before.

That was the thing with Rick, when he was happy it was easy to see. When he was in pain or distressed, Rick shut down.

"Yeah, man." Shane agreed. Actually it was the fourth time they had been on this street.

Rick wordlessly veered across a neglected lawn and up on to a porch. The front door swung slightly back and forth on silent hinges.

"C'mon Rick, its obvious they can't be in here, can't waste time," Shane said.

Acting as if he suddenly lost his ability to hear, Rick walked into the house. A body lay in the hallway. Its head was twisted around, like someone had moved it after it was killed. The kill shot was a perfect hit, dead centre in the skull. Rick knelt down and stuck his finger in the hole. It never hit against a bullet and there were no exit wounds when he looked at the back of its head.

"This walker wasn't put down with a bullet. It was a arrow," Rick looked over at his partner and wiped his hand clean on the back of his jeans, "this was Daryl, had to be. "

Shane could see life make a comeback in Rick's once listless expression as he began to look around the house with a new energy taking place of the

"Most likely was but Rick that don't mean Carl is with him,"

It may be harsh to say but if Shane was going to be the strong one, he was going to have to keep them from getting their hopes up so the fall down wouldn't be as shattering.

"This might," Rick circled around the kitchen table, looking over three china bowls the white on the inside stained orange. Rick laughed a little. Stuck to the bottom of one of the bowls were a handful of shriveled up, brown peas. Even Daryl Dixon couldn't get Carl to eat his peas.

It was more than dirty dishes. It was the sign Rick had been waiting for. They had been here. Rick could feel a ghost of a presence in this house.

If only they had a tracker that could pick up the trail as to where they had gone.

They drove back into base camp for lunch and to reconvene with everyone. It was a solid eighteen miles out of the city. The first night, they parked themselves right next to it and were awakened when a roaming band of walkers tore through the place.

From the way everyone was standing around in a cluster ill at ease, it was obvious something was wrong.

Rick felt a flood of anxiety hit him so hard he couldn't see straight for a second. What had the other search parties found?

His anxiety dissipated when he saw that Andrea was in one corner, Lori in the other. Both looking like they were ready to rip out each other's throat.

"We need to keep it as quiet as possible when we are there. If we start shooting off a bunch of guns, we will stir up every walker there and that'll either lead them to us and we'll have to move even farther out again or worse that mob could come down right on Daryl and the kids." explained Lori in a snarl.

"I don't think that's a issue," replied Andrea in faux friendliness.

It was a double entendre. She may have just meant that it could be unlikely to get that many geeks moving in a set direction. She may have also meant that it was pointless to be thinking about their missing members. Lori certainly took it that way.

"Andrea, please try to understand-" Rick began, before his wife could speak.

"Excuse me!" said Andrea. "You think I don't understand. In case you've forgotten I lost my sister, we've all lost people. I can't imagine what its like to lose your son or daughter but I'm not going to risk my neck anymore. I'm going to move on. Anyone's free to come along."

* * *

><p>The industrial sector was a landscape of large warehouses and yards of building and construction materials. From afar, the wood and steel pallets made a mock city, like one a child might build with lego bricks.<p>

It was the first time they had all been together in one area while searching with the exception of Andrea was with Dale holding down the camp and cooling off. They entered from a train yard. As they crossed over the four sets of train tracks, an eerie unseen mist settled around them, so thick it had a feeling on their skin.

Rick looked down the railway line as he took up the rear. It was far cry from the house this morning. They had projected a possible path that Daryl may have lead Sophia and Carl on. He could feel the same ghostly presence, only this time it didn't feel good.

A faded tin sign banged against the fence. Stockdale Lumber. They wandered into the yard. The wind whistled lowly as it ran through the mounds of wood slates. Glenn climbed up on a pile. He scanned the far side of the yard.

An upside down American flag, like the one in RV had been tacked up on the highest stack of wood, underneath it was a spray painted arrow pointing to the open fronted storage building. Two trucks made a wall at the front. Two other cars were pulled in nearby.

"Looks like a small camp over there," he yelled down.

Resisting the urge to run over there, they skirted around the perimeter. Their pace slowed as they approached and carefully weaved behind the trucks.

It had been a camp. Once. There was a bunch of supplies littered around. The concrete floor on the inside of the building was scorched black and the air smelled unmistakably burnt. A fire had gotten out of control. The rest of the floor was a deep maroon color.

Bones. Bones and fragments of bones, lined the back wall. Blood stains painted a trapped portrait.

"This was someone else, this wasn't them" Shane said, "It wasn't them, the camp's too big for three people."

Rick had gone back to his withdrawn state as he looked it all over the over run

"And Daryl never would've lit a fire, he knows better." Shane continued to reassure them.

A blood soaked cloth lay on the ground. The original pattern was a checkered blue and white that Lori recognized. She picked it up, her hands trembled as she lifted the tag, scrawled on the underside in black ink, _C.G._

Carol knew exactly what it was, what it meant. She had written _S.P _on the tag of Girl Guide shirt for the same reason.

"This is Carl's shirt," Lori explained in a shocked, needless whisper.

* * *

><p>"Neugeboren said a wife who loses a husband is called a widow. A husband who loses a wife is called a widower. A child who loses his parents is called an orphan. But... there is no word for a parent who loses a child, that's how awful the loss is. "<p>

Glenn wrung his baseball cap in his hands. Andrea shifted closer to Carol and put an arm around the grief stricken mother. Lori buried her head down on to Rick's shoulder. Dale's word hit them hard because of how true it was. There was no word to describe this.

"Carl and Sophia, I speak for all of us when I say that our hearts go out to your families. You two were always so happy, you made the absolute best of the end of the world. Our camp will never be the same without you there to show us the bright side."

"And Daryl. It was your nature to be fierce,"

"_Start with the feet this time." _ Rick and T-Dog both heard. Fierce was right on the money.

"We know you would've done whatever it took to protect them. You deserve to be at peace."

They all stood in silence, crying or trying very hard not too. Almost just as quietly they began to walk back to a ready-to-go camp.

Three crosses stood behind, silhouetted against an orange sky.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Roses are red. Violets are blue. I'm so sorry, I kinda feel like I trolled all of you: _Dannie Tomlinson, Englund101, Dropkicking Bullet Shells, Rat, JesseGlennFan, writerchick0214, Missy92, Designation, kdoggt, Effigy, Rebecca taylor, Kountry101, writergirl94, Morgan-eats-cannibals, Lucifer's Garden, sammyjase, Ihasabukkit. _

Important note about the timeline- this chapter was the sixth day, however when we left Daryl choking the daylights out of Sophia it was only the fourth night (two nights in the house, one in IKEA and one in the hotel) so what went on that fifth day?

Dropkicking Bullet Shells caught a semi-deliberate Boondocks Saints reference: fricking crossbow, Sophia's only twelve so she is going to fully curse out the stupid fricking crossbow.

I have nothing against Andrea, I needed someone on the outside to contemplate giving up and that was her. My proof, when Sophia missing, she agreed with Shane that calling off the search was the right idea.

Do you like the story cover? I made it on pixlr express. It's a free photo editing program online, really easy to use and a great replacement for Picnik if you've been missing it. Just thought I'd pass the word along.


	16. An Animal Caught in A Trap

To Ihasabucket, As I promised and I hope this is helps the itching.

* * *

><p>Clawing.<p>

There was something clawing at Daryl's back. A faint tickling of a fingertip ran over his back. Well, clawing was an over exaggeration. The hair on the back of his neck rose as if he were.

His eyes snapped open and became fine-tuned to the darkness. His fingers curled around the handle of the trusty knife at his hip. He swung himself up and around.

The whiskey still coursing through his veins made the sudden movement have a strong, dizzying side effect. The entire room shifted and his poise faltered mid-strike. The knife drilled down into it anyhow.

The shadow recoiled like a pissed off cobra gearing up for the spring. Daryl grabbed it by the throat before it could take a chunk out of him. The blade was really stuck its guts. He pulled it back forcefully and brought it up again, going for the killing stroke.

It moved out of the way again and the blade hit against the wood taking a chunk out with it. The resistance bent the knife backwards in his hand, with a panic inducing feeling; the handle slipped out of his sweaty palm and the knife was lost to the darkness.

His grip on the walker loosened as he felt around for the knife. It took advantage of the slack and got close to freeing itself. He slammed it against the headboard.

White, pinpoint stars burst before her eyes. She could hardly hear the sound of her skull hitting the back above the sound of the blood rushing in her head. The pain that should have been there was overshadowed by her need for air.

The walker, a squirming unstoppable force that wanted nothing more than to rip his insides out and Daryl, an immovable object who badly wanted to keep his insides on the inside reached an impasse.

The hands grabbing at his were soft, like the hand of someone he helped step across a gap on a bridge of concrete barrier bridge earlier today.

That realization woke him up fully with a very sobering punch in the gut. Daryl let go. The unsteady gulps for air he recognized from the pool. It was unmistakably Sophia. He wished it were a walker. That could handle a knife to the belly.

Sophia went to slide off the bed. She was stupid to crawl over here like frightened five year old in the first place, it had been extremely stupid to touch him. Maybe if she was really lucky, they could pretend this never happened. No such luck, Daryl pushed her right back to the headboard.

He ran his hand over her quivering abdomen. Bone dry.

"I-I-I'm okay" she stammered, pushing his hand away and drawing her knees up to her chest. "I-I'm okay,"

_How is that possible?_ Daryl asked. He had felt that knife sink down yet by some miracle she was fine.

Littered all around where Sophia sat pressed against the headboard with her knees still loosely brought up were a bunch of white feathers. As if she had been an angel masquerading as a little girl this whole time.

In a state of awe or plain shock, his fingers raked through the coating of fine feathers on the mattress. An ounce of pain shot up them as they ran over the unforgiving edge of the buck knife. He followed the blade carefully back to the handle and picked it up.

Was he still a sleep?

He turned the knife back and forth, the steel caught some light and illuminated small, dark blood trails from his fingers but it wasn't dark to the hilt with hers as it should be.

This all felt scarily real.

Sophia reached behind her and showed him the slashed pillow. He took it from her, a few more feathers puked out of the wound. It could've of so easily been her torso split open from her belly button to her sternum, so easily been blood and guts.

His eyes lost the confusion glaze as he threw the flattened pillow aside and glowered at her.

He had almost killed her. Why? He had no clue why she was there to begin with never mind why her hands were up his shirt. Daryl was in no mood, nor qualified to understand some arising somnophilia urges the girl may be having. However, corrective behavior therapy was well within his means.

He grabbed her by the forearm. He could feel the tendons snapped to attention. For a second Daryl thought Sophia was winding up to slap him.

_I'll knock some sense in to you, Missy. _He wasn't the only one who thought he was about to get it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Da- " Sophia pleaded, catching herself right before she called him dad, "-ryl please, please, don't."

He was seeing too much red to care about her whining.

What if he went for the gun off the nightstand instead of his knife? She'd be dead. How would he explain that to anyone? More importantly how would he be able to live with himself? There wouldn't be enough alcohol or drugs left in the world to suppress that guilt.

Without any warning, he pulled her off the bed. The force was so strong it left her no time to get her feet underneath and she fell over. Sophia stayed crumpled uncomfortably bent in half, she kept willing her body to move but it never listened, too aware of Daryl standing right next to her.

Her father had once kicked her mom, she moved about with a stiffness caused by broken ribs for the next month.

He waited for her to get up on her own until he couldn't stand the heat behind his ears.

"Git up," he yanked her up by the newly smarting arm causing Sophia to yelp. "And quit yer cryin' _or I'll give you something to cry about._"

Sophia wasn't sure if she really heard that last part or imagined it.

He led her without any resistance, except for when he rammed his leg in to the corner of the bed, back to her spot beside Carl, aka the good child who knew the meaning of personal boundaries.

"We ain't finished," growled Daryl before she resettled in said spot.

Obediently Sophia remained sitting on the edge of the bed. Her eyes round and fearful, the bottom eyelid rimmed with tears about to fall at any time.

"Please. I'll never do it again. Please don't do this," she whispered.

Daryl leaned in real close and planted a hand on either side of her. Still seeing too much red to give what she was saying a second thought.

"I don't know what the hell you were doing but ya damn near got yerself killed doin' whatever the fuck it was,"

There was no need to tell her how close it had been. She was the one who had dodged the knife twice.

"I had a nightmare that you got bit an-nd it was so real," she lied through her teeth. Sophia was good at coming up with lies under pressure

"Do I look like a wet nurse to you?"

What exactly a wet nurse was was a better question to Sophia. (She was sure he didn't mean a nurse that had been thrown in water.) She guessed that he was insinuating that she was too old to be crawling into bed with him because she had a bad dream. He was right. But it had the only thing she could think of. Sophia had a feeling that the truth about wanting to see his scars would get her in worse trouble.

"No," she mumbled, looking down at her sock as she nervously twisted the ankle around her fingers.

"Ya aren't to move from this spot fer the rest of the night or any other god damn night unless there is a walker or yer bleeding ta death. Are we clear?"

She was starting to develop a bad habit of not answering him.

"Are we clear?" he repeated a little louder and harsher.

"Yes,"

_Get it over with already,_ Sophia cringed for a good smack she was sure was right around the corner.

Absolute fear flooded down her like someone doused her with a bucket of ice cold water. One of Daryl's hands had dropped down to his belt, his fingers playing with the dull silver belt buckle like he was going to undo it. Sophia kicked herself back an inch on pure impulse and wondered if she could make a successful run to the bathroom and lock the door.

_Don't. You'll only make it worse on yourself. _A more experienced voice said inside her head. Sophia held as still as she could.

"Next time you get in my space. I'm gonna get in yours." Daryl straightened up "an' next time you will be getting the belt."

* * *

><p>Ahead of them a one armed walker stumbled around in sloppy circles as if the loss of its arm threw out all its motor skills. Rather than shoot it Daryl stalked up to it. Their eyes locked, it lunged at him predictably, Daryl moved back, letting it come to him, and put his knife in its skull. This was the fourth walker this morning that he'd taken out in this fashion. He cleaned the knife on the grass with a few quick wipes before sauntering off at a pace they were having a hard time keeping up with.<p>

There was a tension surrounding them that had nothing to do with being back on the road. They walked along in silence aside from their footsteps in the grass and the odd clink from Carl running his fingers along the chain link fence.

Carl felt like he had missed something important. A few times he had tried to get the others talking but between Daryl's surliness and a jumpy Sophia, he couldn't get a conversation past a few words. His companion's behavior wasn't the only thing that was different. There was a light purpley, blue bruise wrapped around Sophia's forearm.

He didn't want to ask if Daryl had hurt her, because it was better to not ask questions you didn't want to know the answers to, that way you could for the most part believe whatever you wanted. Besides Sophia wouldn't tell him even if he did ask.

Carl liked Daryl. He had a good time talking with him last night and looked up to him, hoping one day he could be a tough as the redneck. He hated to think that the strength he had admired so much had left a mark on his best friend.

She must of fallen out of bed. With the way she would crowd him when they slept, her brain was completely shut off and so could not mind her surroundings. That made sense.

Why would Daryl hurt her?

The tear on the shoulder of his shirt answered the question, reminding him of their fight and how easy it was to get on the wrong side of Daryl's temper.

The fence ended abruptly as if whoever had built stopped caring. Carl was left with nothing to focus on. He tried keeping an eye out for walkers but when he did he ended up watching Sophia and Daryl. It was impossible not to see that things were bad between them. It was unsettling.

Unsettling did not begin to cover it for Daryl. It was downright disturbing.

The way Sophia cowered when he made a gesture for his belt buckle meant that she had been belted at least once in her life. The very action of putting that thought of pain in her head made him exactly like his father. It was no wonder that he couldn't look at his reflection in the windows of the super market they passed by.

"Sophia," her name came out of his mouth like gritty sand paper.

_I took things way too far last night. Its nothing you did, it's me. Deep down I'm this God awful monster._

Daryl wanted to say all that and more. It would be simply if he only knew how to start with _I'm sorry_.

So what came out instead was:

"Do ya need to go to the washroom?"

She shook her head. He'd already lost eye contact.

He wasn't good with apologies, never sure how to accept them the rare occasions he got one and didn't know how to give them.

Once they got out of the parking lot of the grocery store.

They took a break near a trickling creek. Carl picked a long straw of grass and put it in the water like fishing rod. Sophia sat down on a large rock, Daryl nearly did the same thing. She tensed up, watching him out of the corner of her eye, the whites of them shining and strung out like a freaked out horse. Daryl stayed standing.

Out of all his mistakes, Daryl never had one sting like this.

The best thing he could do for her now was get her back to her mother and away from him. He couldn't look after her, or either of them properly. He'd been fooling himself when he thought that he possessed some God given paternal instinct.

The only thing he could be was cruel son of a bitch. It was sewn right in to his genes.

"I hope you dance was one of my mom's favorite songs," said Carl, during the silence of the morning the song had crept back into his head. "What do you think it means?"

"What what means?" she asked.

"I hope you dance. The song. If you had to analyze it like a short story for English what would you say it means?"

Carl turned around, straining his spinal chord to the max to see her. She looked straight ahead.

"I always thought that it meant you had to do the things that scare because they're the most worthwhile."

He turned back to the creek. He couldn't remember the song perfectly but her explanation didn't fit right to him.

"I think it's got another meaning,"

Her shoulders shrugged in a _suit yourself _manner and she didn't defend her position any farther. They once spent an inordinate amount debating if only geckoes could drop their tails and if it bled when they did.

The current took the grass stalk away instantly as Carl let it go. He dusted off any dirt on the back of his jeans as he walked over to Sophia.

"Are you ok?" He could at least ask that.

Looking into Carl's genuine blue eyes that could be so caring and stubborn at the same time, she knew she wouldn't be able to lie to him as easily as she had been pressed into lying to Daryl last night. She couldn't even fully explain it to herself,

"No. Didn't sleep well last night. Miss my mom is all." She said curtly.

"Me too," Carl admitted.

He was trying not cry, she could tell. Although what she told Carl wasn't the whole truth about why she was not okay, it was comforting to know that she wasn't the only one that was hurting. She looked over at Daryl.

Conflicted was how Sophia would describe the situation.

She had gone back to being afraid of Daryl, however unlike before there was a part of her that wanted to override her nerves.

She could still see the man that had taken care of them when they were sick from stale pop tarts or when she was scared to death from a nosebleed. Maybe most men would've done that, so it really wasn't anything special. But to Sophia it meant a lot.

_Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter. _

She knew for a fact that had been what happened to Daryl.

Abuse something and its going to be either a nervous wreck like she was or turn mean like Daryl.

Maybe if someone showed him some kindness, he wouldn't lash out so violently all the time. Maybe that someone could be her.

One step at a time, Sophia needed a little time to be at ease around him again first.

They pushed on after having something to eat and drink. Carl crept up behind her. Startling her of course.

"Penis" he whispered in her ear.

He walked off, throwing her a challenging look. She had created a monster.

"Penis," she said a little louder.

"Penis,"

"I don't know why ya'll keep sayin that but its gonna stop," interjected Daryl.

Sophia forfeited instantly, looking down dejectedly at her shoe as she kicked a stray pebble.

"Penis," Carl said, "is just a word."

"A bad one,"

"Debatable,"

"No not debatable, it's a bad word."

"You have-" Sophia said boldly, providing Carl with some back up.

"At ta tat tat ta da" Daryl cut her off before he had words, "we ain't gonna talk about it,"

"Well of course we aren't going to talk about the business between your legs," muttered Sophia, still loud enough to hear.

Daryl turned fifty shades of red.

They went quiet after a howling fit.

"Sharks have two penises," stated Carl.

Sophia burst out laughing so hard she could hardly walk straight.

"How does that even work?" she asked once she stopped laughing.

"You don't need to know and Carl don't need to explain it," Daryl said, "Where the hell did ya even learn that?"

"Shark week on the discovery channel,"

"Oh, oh, oh," Sophia skipped sideways excitedly. "I learned on the discovery channel that banana slugs penises can be as long as their bodies,"

"Wow. Don't know what I want to be in my next life," Daryl said, then kicked himself for keeping this conversation going.

"You don't want to be a banana slug," said Sophia. "Sometimes when they're mating they get like stuck together and the other one bites it off,"

Carl and Daryl exchanged horrified looks.

"Too bad they don't have spares like sharks," said Carl. "Want to know something about weird about ducks?"

"Always" Sophia giggled.

"Not if its about their junk," there was a sentence Daryl could have never imagined saying ever. "What are you two watchin' on the discovery channel, weirdest penises of the animal kingdom?"

"I thought penis was a bad word," said Carl.

"It is."

"You just said it,"

"I'm an adult,"

"So you should be setting a example for us,"

"I'm a shitty role model, you shouldn't be looking to me. For instance if we come across any slave traders, I'll probably sell ya."

"For what?"

Daryl stopped walking ahead and started circling them.

"Yer both pretty skinny, you wouldn't be able to lift much. You could shuck peas or somthin'. Ya got all yer teeth?"

Sophia nodded, more like she normally would and Carl bared his teeth to show he had them all.

"Hhhmm, a bag a apples," Daryl decided.

As awkward as this conversation started, it was a badly needed morale booster.

* * *

><p>They had reached the interstate exit a while ago. Daryl didn't announce it because they'd start worrying about where their parents were if he did. They figured it out by themselves or suspected it, he noticed it they were walking slower, not like they were tired, Daryl knew what fatigue looked like on them. This was more like they were looking for something.<p>

"They probably couldn't stay here in Dodge, must be camped somewhere out a bit," said Daryl.

Carl climbed up on the sidebars of a truck and squinted into the sun. No RV or anything familiar as far as the eye could see. He hopped down and caught up to the others.

Daryl held up his hand, they stopped.

Something moved up ahead, about two o'clock.

He crept forward alone, crossbow at the ready. Two walkers, no about seven that he could see. There were too many blind spots for him to get an accurate head count or. Even if it was only those seven, Daryl could not lead them that way. There was too many for him to take on.

Getting off the highway seemed to take forever. They crawled around the vehicles to avoid getting spotted. Grass never felt so good even though for the better part of today they had walked on it.

"We'll get back to the highway right? We're gonna go back," whispered Carl.

That was the road to home, they had to get back on it. Daryl kept silent.

There was nothing but large warehouse and stockyards. Still something felt off. They took an alley beside an auto repair shop. That eerie feeling grew stronger. Daryl was going to listen to it.

Daryl walked in to the garage It was a mess but there was nothing in it and it was out of the way. The way he was checking it out, they both knew he was planning on leaving them behind.

"Y'all stay here, I'm gonna scout up ahead a bit, not far. Send up a shot if anything happens" Daryl gave the gun to Carl.

Daryl got up to half a block a way without seeing anything. Then it stumbled right across him. A small herd of walkers, once again too many for him. They were headed in the direction of the auto shop. Anything could've got them moving that way. He

All the same, once they passed him by. Daryl secured the crossbow over his back and started back as fast as he could. He needed to get back to the kids, get them out of this hot bed of walkers even if that meant a longer detour back to the highway.

His foot got caught on the ties of the train tracks, sending him in to the gravel. Daryl went to get up. He hadn't only tripped over the track, his foot had slipped in between the rotting boards of a cattle grid.

He couldn't think and barely resisted the urge to scream.

Daryl was trapped.

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't he be back now?" One of them asked.<p>

They had been watching for a while, just outside their shelter, happy to get a break from the heat by hiding under some cars.

The hunger plague stabbed at their stomachs and they made a move to into the shelter.

The adult male wasn't with them. They were alone.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Happy Walking Dead day. I bring to you chapter 16 or on this laptop chapter 1. My hard drive crashed and I lost this chapter at about 2500 words.<p>

Last time this happened a year, I seriously gave up the will to write for about a week. This time because of all of you, I poured everything I had into this chapter right away: Mile T-Rex, Dannie Tomlinson, Macadukey, Rebecca Taylor, Fluffiet (2x), Little Karma, writergirl94, WalkerScuzzie, griffin1776, Missy92, Emberka-2012, JesseGlennFan, doglver228, Narnian at Heart (2x), ArmedWithMyComputer, tarzlady65, LeanneDaseyLover, tracys dream, Killerbee77, jemlou, TripleLLL (3x), but-the-clouds, Lucifer;s Garden, kdoggt, KatherineSlade, SageK, Auds1978, Callista252, Guest, KookieMeow. 

Enjoy the rest of the marathon if you've been watching and let's hope Talking Dead gives us some season 3 peeks.


	17. Fear The Hunters

18 points to Macadukey, for catching the 18 Miles Out reference back in Chapter 15 of the group being 18 miles out.

* * *

><p>The Dixons were cursed. What other explanation was there for this? Plain bad luck didn't seem to cover it.<p>

Daryl kicked and thrashed until he lay panting. There was no need to panic, it's not like he had to be worried about being mowed down by a train. He did need to worry about geeks finding him like a worm on a fishing lure. That led to more kicking and thrashing, which did about the same amount of good as before. So panicking was getting him nowhere and if he wanted to get out of this, he needed to stop.

The damage was not as bad as he thought it was. His foot while wedged in tightly, had gone straight down, only about a quarter of it had gotten caught under the slates, sandwiched between the actual railway line and the cattle grid. With one tug on the end his shoelace he untied his boot and stretched out the ankle as far as much as he could and tried to slip his foot out of it. It didn't budge an inch.

What did he have to work with? His bowie knife, chills ran up his spine as he could not help but think of how Merle, the other cursed Dixon bastard, cut off his hand with a hacksaw. The knife was off the table. Call him crazy but he was attached to his left foot. They had been through a lot together and aside from this one incident, were still going strong.

The crossbow was still slung on his back, though he couldn't think of any use it may be. Shooting yourself in the foot got you out of more than you'd think but would be completely pointless in this situation.

Claustrophobia began to set in again. To abate it before he flipped out, Daryl got up on his feet and just took in the view. The railway lines split from two to four, criss-crossing wildly before going separate ways beyond the horizon to cut indifferent paths of steel through forests or anything that ever dare stand in its way.

He gave a good tug on his leg, his heel slid grudgingly against its captor. Daryl pulled harder.

Something snapped inside his leg and near intolerable pain surged through his calf muscle. Biting down on to his bottom lip to keep himself from making any noise.

Daryl unslung the crossbow clumsily so he would lie down and take all the weight off his leg. Once the pain went down and the muscle unwound a little, he squeezed the cramp out of the back of his calf. He'd never had a muscle cramp that bad in his life. The second cramp two seconds later gave it a run for its money. The muscle was on a hair trigger and wasn't a single movement he could make that would set off another cramp.

So now he had to get out of this without moving his leg.

It was sort of funny. He was the one in danger, trapped out in the open, clutching the crossbow like a security blanket, but all he could think about was those stupid kids.

Carl could keep his head to a degree under pressure. He had killed a geek back at the hotel and to be honest Daryl did not think that the kid had it in him. But his feet moved faster than his head. Hopefully Sophia's weak-kneed way would hold him long enough to think through a situation. Or indefinitely, what if Sophia became paralyzed like she was apt to do, would Carl be able to get her moving again?

_Walkers crawled into the garage through the crumpled lifting door, Daryl had only closed it part way, so he could hear a gunshot. But they couldn't fire the gun, they knew better so they crawled behind the workbench they were hiding behind and pushed open the smudged glass door to the front office without so much as a gasp. It was too late though, the geeks already knew they were there. As they backed away, knocking in to a stack of new tire, they stared at the rotted faces pressing themselves against the glass. _

Daryl hit his head unintentionally hard against the wood to knock the images out. It wouldn't come to that. He hid them well. They were tucked out of the way in that auto garage, the walkers he saw should not notice them if they didn't give them any reason too, which they wouldn't. Like fawns, Daryl knew they wouldn't move unless danger was right on top of them.

_The force of the walkers in the garage clamoring up against the back of the door was enough to push it open. _

_The kids were five steps ahead of them and out on to the street by the time they breached the reception space. _

_They didn't know where Daryl had gone, he hadn't told them, so they picked a clear road in the right direction and stuck to it. The moans and groans of the small herd weren't heard until they walked out in front of them. They were quick on their feet again, running hand in hand until it was physically impossible for them to run anymore. The walkers began to gain ground on them. _

"_C'mon, let's go," Carl tugged her arm with one hand, the gun was cocked and shaking in the other. _

_Sophia didn't answer. She refused to move. He kept pulling at her. It did no good but Carl would never leave her behind. Not even with half a dozen walkers bearing down on them._

Gritting his teeth, Daryl pulled at his leg, ignoring the flare up of pain until his body had enough and shut him down with weak shakes.

Someone from the group would find them before the geeks did. Shane and Rick were blue bloods through and through. They've had training on looking for missing people, they'd be able to organize a search party in ways Daryl would never think of and they'd be looking for them night and day.

_A gun shot. A scream._

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't he be back by now?" Carl asked.<p>

Daryl said he was going to scout ahead a bit. Not half the country.

Sophia's heart said yes but her mouth replied, "No. I don't think it's been that long,"

"It's been long enough," Carl looped his arm through the backpack strap, then the other, pulling the whole thing up on to his back. Like said before, Daryl said he wasn't going far. He was a little nervous about going out there alone. From the look Sophia was giving him, it was clear she wasn't going to come with him.

"We have to stay here," Sophia piped up when he took a few steps toward the garage door.

"Never said you had to come," Over the sound of his voice, Carl could hear her shoes hitting against the concrete. His heart lifted a little when he thought there might be a chance he wouldn't have to go it alone.

"You can't go all by yourself,"

"Well I am, and if you don't want to be alone, you're going to have to come too," Carl tried another couple of steps to see if she would follow again. She didn't, he turned around, she was seating on a work stool with her arms crossed, "don't you want to find Daryl?"

"Not really. 'Cause if we find him out there, he's going to beat us to a inch of our lives for leaving."

Carl was at the garage door, just about to dip his head under it when he heard a clicking noise.

For better or worse, the small ones had split up. So that's what they would do too. The plan was always to surround them.

Two dogs, a skinny black Lab and an evener skinnier mixed breed, stood in between them. Sophia hopped off the stool, it rolled away a bit as she slowly side stepped closer to Carl. Both of them had stories from their mother about the danger of unfriendly dogs. These two definitely gave the vibe of being ill natured. Their eyes never left them though their ears twitched to the sides, following quips of sounds and most importantly their tails stayed down. They were stoic, if that was possible for a dog to be.

They didn't like the smell in the shelter. It was strong. Thick. Chemical. Another member of the pack barked and came in, herding the small boy inwards, another one following in at its tail. They started at the girl, she grabbed some metal tools of the table with a grating dragging noise. She backed into the center stubbornly, her movements stiff and defensive.

"Go home," she growled.

Some of them still remembered the sound of that word. Go in car. Go for walk. It made them think of their previous families. They missed them. But they were hungry, starving, and they didn't know these two. They weren't their humans.

They herded them into the center of the room. The girl gave one club to the boy.

Carl understood what Sophia was doing. The dogs were circling them slowly, showing off ribcages and teeth. Using her strategy, he banged the wrench she had given him into the car lift beside them. It made a loud _clang _that made some of the dogs jump back a bit.

The small ones seemed bigger now. More formidable. There were more of them scavenging outside, and would probably come by when all they found was the same empty food bins. But waiting for more of them meant more mouths to feed. Not to mention the risk of the adult male coming back. One of them broke ranks and went forward.

Another loud noise that hurt their ears made them all jump back. They paced back and forth. Hunger rumbled in their throats coming out as throaty growls.

It was hard to think over all the noise, the nails on the concrete floor clicking, the clinking of tags on loose collars and the movement they had to keep track of. Any time one of the dogs stepped out of line, they hit the tools on something to keep them back.

They bided their time too long. Their frightened prey snapped and came running at them, wielding the clubs at them. One of them bit down into the boy's leg, teeth barely touching the skin, getting cut into the fabric. A club came down between its shoulder blades forcing it to let go. Another one had reared up on the girl, nails scratching lines on her neck, unsteady on its hind legs she pushed it over.

_Crack! _Carl fired the gun, taking out oil stained, plastic measuring cup.

On instinct the dogs went running in any direction, wanting to get far from the noise, while the kids made their getaway to a mysterious green door.

Sophia went to slammed the door shut behind them, one of the Labs had its snout in the door way and the door remained ajar for a second longer but shut fully a second later. The beasts on the other side scratched and whined and from the sounds of it threw themselves at the door.

It wasn't a closet. It was a small office. The desk took up most of the center of the room and lining the walls were stacks of boxes labeled with months and there was window at the back showing a picturesque view of a lone pine tree in the middle of the lawn.

Carl slid the window open and dumped the backpack out into the grass.

"You aren't going out there. Daryl will be back soon. We're safe in here," protested Sophia.

"Yeah until those dogs scratch away the door," Carl knew that was a little far fetched so he added something that would absolutely scare Sophia into coming, "or draw in some walkers who'll tear it right off,"

The dogs may not but the gun shot might have some on the way already. A booming bark added to her decision. Sophia climbed out behind him. She wasn't going to talk to him until they found their protector.

From under the garage they had watched Daryl's feet step over a body laying face down after kicking it, Carl did the same when they came to it. When he got further out they could see his whole frame disappear to the left of a tow truck. Once they got there, they didn't know where else to go.

Sophia tried the passenger door of the tow truck. It was locked. She hopped up on the step rail and tried to stick her arm through the window to pull the lock thingie-mabob up.

"It don't matter, we ain't staying here. Quit wasting time," Carl said.

He wasn't going to say so but Carl felt something had gone wrong with Daryl. What would they do if he had got bit? The gun Daryl had given in case of an emergency became prominently leaded. His throat felt tight, Carl blinked hard and forced it to unwind with some deep breathes. He couldn't cry in front of Sophia. He did bump against her and grab her hand. She squeezed his reassuringly. They were both scared and feeling lost and vulnerable.

"We'll be laughing about this later," Carl stated out of the blue.

They were going to carry each other through this.

More bodies were lying on the road. They had head wounds as that was the only way to decommission a walker.

"This was probably Daryl, he can't be far ahead," Carl said optimistically, leading the way down the street.

They followed the bodies as if they were breadcrumbs left in the forest.

"Did a dog get your leg?" Sophia asked, making an exception to the silent treatment to see if he was hurt.

"Just tore out the knee of my jeans. My mom's gonna think I did it," Carl tried to turn it around into a joke but gone were the days when the most you had to worry about was wrecking the knees on your Sunday jeans.

Like Hansel and Gretel's did, Carl and Sophia's trail ran cold at the front of a heavily looted car dealership. The building was shiny, the front walled with glass panes, many of which were broken, fancy show room cars poked through.

There were no signs that Daryl had come this way. They scanned the streets for more bodies. Not a deceased soul in sight.

_Caw, caw, caw _a greedy crow yelled at something that chased it off from its meal of road side garbage. A tall, lanky German shepherd wandered up, dragging a chewed through leather leash off its collar. Its ears flattened back against its head. Hackles raised all along its back.

Not again.

It charged them. Looking only to get away from this new demon, they hopped the dam of vehicles blocking exit gate to the sales yard. The looters were dead at the scene, some still holding steering wheels right in the act.

The shepherd got its front legs up on the hood, barking ferociously. Six more dogs, the same four from the garage plus two new friends, were stalking around the front, slinking their way around the vehicles.

"We'll go to the back and hop the fence," Carl grabbed her hand and lead the way.

Vehicles were lined up in a bridge, smashed against each other. It was more of a wreckers yard now then a sales yard now. They went on hopping from hood to boot towards the back. The dogs followed them on the ground, a few tried to climb up and get them, barking and snapping at each other.

This was the most excitement the pack had had in weeks. They felt strong.

Carl and Sophia crossed over on to the last car to the fence. The shepherd leapt up and on to the car hood, claws scratching white lines the navy blue surface.

Sophia took a running start and leapt for the fence, grabbing on to the chain link.

"It's not as far as it looks," she yelled to Carl.

Carl took one more look at the German shepherd; its head bent low, poised perhaps to jump at him, eyeing him up with dark eyes.

The girl was gone. The boy was scared. They had him. The others were getting even more excited now, racing around the car. Food. He was the alpha, they could wait. The boy turned and jumped.

They lost their prey as they climbed up out of reach. They had come so close only to be cut off by a the bane of their past life. A fence. They pushed against it. It leaned back and did nothing more. Angry, the alpha bit the nearest member, they jumped back with a cry.

Carl and Sophia hit the ground running and they didn't stop running until they were back on their original road, there was no sign of the dogs. However if four of them had followed them after they left the garage it meant they had gone to the trouble of tracking them so they took turns looking over their shoulders

A storm drain with a faint stream drowning the grass caught Sophia's eye.

Water. Dogs couldn't track scents through water if most Disney movies and various cartoons were to be believed.

"We got to hide for a bit, we don't want them finding us again," Sophia said, walking down into the drainage ditch.

This time Carl agreed about hiding and he went in first with the gun ready as it would ever be in his hand, Sophia at his heels. The storm drain smelled dank. They hugged the rippled sides to keep their feet from getting soaked. They stayed in there for while, making no noise, watching the shadows just outside change shape.

"Remember when we hid for half and hour in the forest from the Black Demons," whispered Sophia.

_Splosh, _a water droplet dropped down from the ceiling.

"Yes, God those things wouldn't die," Carl remembered fighting them with Louis as the

Cautiously they poked their noses out, then crawled back up the ditch. Carl hopped up on his knees, staring around, before getting back down. He did it once more.

"Look," Carl directed her attention to red and white railway crossing guard. In the background was the last body they wanted to see. Daryl. A few yards down were rambling band of geeks. They were heading towards him. If Daryl was still alive, he was in trouble.

"What do we do?" asked Sophia, voice high with panic.

"I'll lead them off,"

"What?"

"I'll get them to chase me, you get over there and see if he's ok,"

Vibrant colors of an upside down American flag stood out over yards of dull grey. Carl shrugged the backpack off, he could run faster without it.

"First one back gets the backpack. We'll meet over there by that flag,"

Sophia looked at all the ground she had to cover to first get to Daryl and then to their meeting spot.

"What if I can't get over there?"

"You're the fastest girl I know," Carl coaxed her, "C'mon track star,"

He was referring to her old school's track and field day where Sophia had won an orange second place ribbon in the boy's race. She nodded her consent and Carl moved out into the open.

"Hey ugly," Carl called, he picked up a rock and pitched it as hard as he could.

The rock hit the pavement in front of them, the walkers switched direction with their attention. Carl didn't count them though he had the time to as he let them come closer.

_Just like a homerun,_ he thought as he took off.

Once they were clear, Sophia took off from her spot, stumbling over the treacherous tracks. She felt a weight lifted off of her when Daryl raised his head. He wasn't dead, only playing it.

"Are you hurt?" she asked. "Is it broken?"

Daryl shook his head. He'd never even asked that question himself. It didn't feel broken but maybe he was in shock.

"Does it look ok?" He asked weakly.

"Umm… yeah, its fine. I'll have you out of here in a jiffy," Sophia studied every inch of the railway tie. She pulled back futilely on the wood using all her weight. The tip of the wood wedge dug into her palm. Because of its wedge shape, maybe she could just pull his leg back. Her hand reached for his calf.

"Don't touch it," he snapped, unbeknownst to his rescuer, defensively. The muscle was still tender and even a light pinch would give it a spasm.

_Don't pay him much mind. He's a spaz. _Sophia remembered what Merle had told her.

Daryl had lots questions. How did she find him? Where did she come from? And what happened to the boy? What about those walkers?

"Where's Carl?"

"Leading off the geeks,"

"Mother fuc-" Daryl cut himself short, he knew she was going to say that. Getting angry wouldn't do any good and would scare Sophia, who was a new tool. "Can you reach between the slates and move some of the rocks"

Sophia did as was asked of her. The rocks were chalky, coating her hands with a whitish dust. Her neck hurt from holding it in one position. She gripped it with one hand and twisted it to get the kinks out.

"I'm sorry 'bout last night, " said Daryl, "it don't hurt too bad, does it?"

She looked down at her arm, thinking that was what he meant.

"Nah. It looks worse than it is. I bruise like our famous peaches. Its alright," she said lightly.

"No its not,"

"I should of never been there, coulda got myself killed."

She wasn't simply repeating what he had told her, Daryl could tell her from voice that she believed it. Sophia had probably grown up hearing justifications for this type of shit. Daryl's father was too lazy to come with any reason for the things he did to him. Maybe it was better that way because he never been brainwashed into thinking it was his fault.

Daryl pulled himself up. She stopped digging and looked at him with that fearful gaze from last night, that gave him a crossover of nausea and the sting of heart burn.

"Nothin' you did could ever excuse how I acted," he said firmly, "What I did was not ok, Sophia. I shoulda never laid a hand on you."

_I wish I could tell you I'll never do it again. _Daryl didn't trust himself.

She went back to raking at the rocks, "Not like you can take it back,"

There was hurt there. So Sophia wasn't great at accepting apologies either. Weren't they a perfect pair?

"I'm gonna make it up to you,"

What about these two made him blurt things out. He owed Carl a hunting trip and now he had to magically make it up to Sophia.

"Can you move it yet?"

With some space for his heel, Daryl could slip his foot out from under the part that had slid under the tie. All there was to do now was pull it straight back. Gingerly he moved himself back, his whole body instead of just the leg. Sophia pushed on the bottom of his foot until it popped free.

Before he could say hold-up-I-have-an-awful-Charlie-horse, Sophia was trying to haul him up by the arm, like he had with her only with far less success. Daryl got up, he could put full weight Good thing, Sophia was quickly moving on with or without him.

"We saw you from around here after hiding in a storm drain, we were hiding in there from some dogs. Keep your eyes open for any, they're really nasty," Sophia explained.

She stopped and looked around and turned around and went back the other way. She turned right on dime,

"There was a flag on a stack of two by fours, that's where we said we'd meet,"

Sophia couldn't find it or anything that looked familiar.

* * *

><p>He couldn't keep running forever, Carl expected to get tired but it was happening sooner then he thought and he hadn't found a place to hide.. The moans and groans behind him were starting to get louder. As least there weren't barking on top of it. The dogs might be<p>

His lungs were starting to burn. His throat felt stripped. Then Carl saw his perfect saving grace.

A pyramid of pipes large enough he could crawl into them, small enough the full grown, lumbering geeks would have a hard time. He used the last burst of speed he had in him to run over to them. If he made them think that he stayed in there, he could go out the other side and back to the Daryl and Sophia.

Carl climbed up the pile of pipes. The metal was hot and rough on his hands but he ignored the discomfort and climbed pretty high.

The walkers reached up, hands trying to grab at his ankles dangling down out of their reach. Carl kept them transfixed like that for longer than necessary. He reached for the gun tucked in the side of his pants.

They weren't people.

He pointed the barrel down at one of them. A man. His arms were bare, an impossibly bright construction vest hung off its slim frame. He must have worked around here.

He began to feel sick. Even though they weren't people. Carl crawled in to the pipes, in the middle was as cool as the outer rim was hot. Maybe he'd just lie down in here for a while.

* * *

><p>It felt wrong stopping for the night without Carl. Daryl didn't want to, but neither of them could see in the dark and Sophia was exhausted, barely picking up her feet when she walked, he'd be carrying her if he kept her on them any longer.<p>

They stayed by a pickup truck. It wasn't far off the road. Daryl sat on the open tailgate and massaged his calf, it still hurt. Sophia looked lost. She dug through a cardboard box.

"Found some alphagetti," Sophia set a tin can with a blue label and animated letters, on the tail gate. Daryl hacked the lid off and gave it back to her.

"no spoons but I found some sporks," She held a spork out to him.

"I'm fine, you eat," declined Daryl.

"You haven't had anything since breakfast."

_Except your fingernails. _Sophia wanted to finish as he was once again had his ring finger in his mouth, snipping away at the corners.

The backpack didn't hold much food anymore. They weren't supposed to be gone this long.

"You have to eat," Sophia persisted.

Daryl took the spork. He wasn't going to eat much. Every time he stopped scooping raw tomato basted letters out, Sophia stopped too. They carried on like that until the can was gone, to a small extent Daryl felt guilty about how full his stomach felt. His guts were damn grateful of Sophia's stubbornness.

Like an approaching storm, Daryl was getting the sense that Sophia was going to start crying. She had the look and the breathing pattern.

"You wanna go lay down inside the cab?" he pointed to the rear window with his thumb.

He did sort of say that so she could cry and she'd be away him. It would be best for both of them.

"No more splitting up," Sophia whispered hoarsely.

"I won't go no where. Promise,"

"No more splitting up." Sophia rubbed her nose with her fingers, "I shouldn't of let him go alone, not after what happened to Amy, an' my Dad an' Jim. I shoulda gone with him stead of being a 'fraidey cat. I'm the one that got us lost."

She erupted into small sobs that masked anything else she was trying to say. The crickets chirping around them mirrored how he felt. Daryl had absolutely no clue what to do.

Should he hug her?

Just reach over and pat her shoulder.

Daryl wanted to gain back some of Sophia's trust. He was being given a chance right now.

_She ain't gonna bite you, _he told himself. Though who could blame the girl if she did?

Something that didn't bother Daryl about last night until he now thought back on it was that was that Sophia didn't fight at all. Daryl would've drawn first blood at her age. She just waited for it.

Slowly but surely he put his arm around her shoulder. She may be tall for her age, but thin (Merle had nicknamed her Darlina Ballerina, the latter for her frame, the first part to creatively call Daryl a little girl). Her cries shook her body. He scooted closer to her and pulled her in a little bit.

"It'll be alright,"

Daryl must of done something right by her. Sophia crept in the rest of the way, tucking her head under his chin. Like his hands, the rest of Daryl was warm. And solid, she liked that.

"It's all gonna be ok,"

She believed him.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: A little throw back to the comic with the chapter title because a) the hundredth issue came out last month, I bought it despite being a volume buyer<p>

b) some of you thought I was going into comic territory with these hunters, others just guessed it. I hope they do the comic hunters in the show.

I have nothing against dogs. I've owned dogs all my life, mines part German shepherd and she basically inspired this as she attacks me in the most loving way of course. I would've used cats if I could make them a threat, which I think they do all on their own but couldn't sell it right. I know that some of you did guess it was dogs, I will find out who when I have a better connection. I've been camping the past couple of weeks.

There aint no mountain high enough, ain't no river wide enough, ain't no wifi weak enough to keep me from posting for you: Missy92, MsAtrabilious, Emberka-2012, , Dannie Tomlinson, 6747, writergirl94, war90, Ihasabukkit, Effigy, tarzlady65, auds1978, LeanneDaseyLover, sammyjase, ArmedWithMyComputer, JesseGlennFan, Narnian at Heart, kdoggt, Guest (who I'm fairly sure was Killerbee77), Rebecca taylor, tracys dream, MarionArnold, Kountry101, Mackadukey, Lucifer's Garden, kutoki, Guest II, GothicWolfDream, SUPERNATURAL-Anarchy in U.S.A, Guest III *if you reviewed in the last five days and aren't listed its cause I'm away and not getting my email promptly, put you in next time.

Thanks for the condolences on my hard drive.

p.s Daryl does make it up to Sophia and that wasn't it.


	18. All We Do Is Run

Better late than nevers:

I kept you all guessing for a long time about what was following them until revealing that it was dogs, TripleLLL called it. If you thought it was walkers, I was trying to make you think that. Killerbee77 thought of dogs but was a little uncertain because most unfortunately they could not be zombie dogs. (Thanks for dashing our hopes Robert Kirkman,) I would've so put zombie dogs in if I knew they might exist in this 'Verse.

To LeanneDaseyLover and all others wondering: The facts about sharks and banana slugs are 100% true. Banana slugs I learned about from the Internet. The shark facts from the discovery channel during Shark Week, which is this week.

* * *

><p>The sun had chased the cool darkness in the pipe all the way back to the top of Carl's head. The new warmth sidled up to his scalp opened his eyes right into its blazing rays as it hung low in the sky.<p>

Carl sat up, his back curved with the pipe, his head tucked in a bit. He wondered how Daryl and Sophia were getting along. Hopefully she had gotten him unstuck from the train tracks and Daryl was using his limited amount of patience with her and Sophia wasn't running it to the max with her stubbornness and also whatever happened between them last night was far behind them. Most of all he hoped they were not worried about him. Carl felt guilty about being gone so long, he hadn't meant to take a nap but at least it made his stomach feel better.

It was quiet, he had gone to sleep to the rasping, moans and groans of walkers and now he heard nothing. He had slept so long that the walkers must have gotten bored. Carl didn't know if any had wandered off and didn't check, he didn't care in the least. There may be a posse of geeks only three yards from him and there might not be, it didn't matter much.

He crawled to the far end. The rough texture rubbed against the exposed skin on his knee. Carl tried his best to not move that leg along as much, which was near impossible and despite his efforts the skin got scrapped away. He dropped down with soft _clap _of his shoes hitting the ground and walked back the way he came without a sound.

It took more time to get back to the beginning. Running was pointless and it was easy to get turned around since the warehouses and lots varied little from each other and by this point in time all the wreckage of the apocalypse looked the same. Carl took a few wrong turns but would always figure out it was the wrong way when he didn't see anything from before and he eventually came to the railway crossing.

A backpack with black with brown dirt scuffs on the bottom and large panels of red on the front marking the pouches, the backpack that he had been carrying around for the past five days. It was lying by the side of the ditch exactly where he had left it.

Carl rationalized that the backpack still being there was not anything to panic over. Sophia was freaked out, she probably forgot to come back and get it. He slid it on and started making his way to the planned rendezvous spot. The premonition of what the left behind bag could mean faded away the longer he stared at the upside down flag. He became convinced their group was there. It was a sign for them. Who else would hang a flag upside down?

His parents were there.

Walking felt like standing still. He started running, excitement keeping away all discomfort in his roughed up knee.

His good ol' buddy, "uncle" Shane would be there too.

Carl pulled the gate to the yard marked Stockdale Lumber back with a quiet, rusty screeching of the hinges and ran into the yard. He imagined the Winnebago being parked around the side of one of the piles

Glenn, Andrea, T-Dog, Dale and Carol. They'd all be there. They'd be sitting around the fire. Carl would run up and hug his mom and dad and Shane. He'd hear about how they went out looking for him everyday. He could tell them all about how he tricked the walkers into thinking he had stayed in those pipes.

Daryl and Sophia may or may not be there. If they hadn't made it back yet, he would tell Carol not to worry about her daughter, that Daryl wouldn't let her out of his sight even though it was probably more the case that Sophia wouldn't let Daryl out of her sights, it had the same result in the end. She'd be safe.

They'd all be together very soon. They'd be home.

His heart felt way too big for his chest. He had to almost literally bit the urge to start yelling as he ran up to the trucks outside the rectangular open-mouthed building.

No RV, No camp fire. They weren't there. No one was.

Carl knew he had gotten his hopes up too high when he thought that everyone was here. But why weren't Sophia and Daryl here? He couldn't help but wonder if they had been there but they left. What if they went on without him?

He sat on against the wheel of the truck, staring out at the vast yard. Even as night closed in around him, Carl wasn't afraid.

_I'm strong…I've grown up, I think a lot, I'm not an adult yet, but close. Close enough. _

So he wasn't afraid, he didn't get scared anymore.

It didn't matter if they never came. He didn't need them. Carl had led them out of the garage when Sophia would've stayed to become geek or dog chow and Daryl was the one who left them there. Hell, when he was around, he was messing up, nearly getting them all killed at one point or another and let's not forget the drinking on the job.

Anger gnawed away at the place inside of him where the elated excitement had been.

His parents were the ones who had left him behind in the first place. All they had to do was wait. Was that too hard to do? Since then he had to look after himself and he was doing fine job. Better than them or anyone could.

Carl didn't need anybody.

He patted the gun tucked into his pants and dug a flashlight out. If he was going to stay here, at least for tonight, he needed to sweep the place; make sure it was safe enough and see what supplies were left lying around. Hopefully there would be some food. As much as he liked the giant oreo cookies, Carl didn't want to have cakesters for dinner.

The trail had gone cold for a while. Wandering around to find other food paid off and they were able to pick the trail up. They traced it to a place where it intermingled with the earthy smell of wood and the smell of something rotting. It made them hesitant. An artificial light came out from behind a cube, it was being carried by the boy.

By the time he saw it, a streak of tan and black, it was too late. The beam from the flashlight splashed across the long open jaws of the shepherd as it launched itself at him. The weight of the animal knocked him over, his head cracked against a something on the way down.

Carl kept it back with an adrenaline-fueled hold on its neck, keeping the snapping teeth at bay. It twisted its head and clamped down on his fore arm. He kicked hard in the side. The dog gave back an inch and Carl took a mile. He squirmed out from under the dog, and reached up to pull himself up on an oversized shelf. Two by fours fell on him. He picked on up and struck the shepherd across the face as it dove at him again, then he dragged himself up on to a empty compartment wood shelf.

A warm wetness ran down the side of his face. He wiped it, his fingers turned red. His whole palm came back bloody when he touched the part of his head that stung. The shepherd paced around, like a shark in bloody waters, keeping the other dogs back. He pulled off his collared blue shirt and pressed it tight against his head. His arm wasn't bleeding as much as his head. It throbbed as bad.

The backpack lay on the ground by the trucks, the gun on the ground below him, neither were far but both were unreachable to him. The flashlight went out. The dogs barked at each other, squabbling in the black. There had to be more than eight now. He flicked the switch off and on, it gave it three more seconds of life only.

Carl curled up into a ball in the corner of the shelf and stared across the same yard lit only by natural light of the moon.

_I can't be alone. I'm just a kid. I can't live on my own. _

With a short yelp, the dogs retreated far in to the shadows, chased off their game by a larger predator, something that could reach him.

This was it. Carl shut his eyes as tight as he could.

"Carl. Aw crap," a familiar gruff voice.

"What is it?"

_It can't be. _Carl thought he was imagining things that he wanted so bad.

"Is he ok? Is he alright?" another familiar, higher voice panicked right by his ear.

It was Daryl and Sophia.

"Hey guys," Carl smiled, shifting himself to the end of the shelf.

Here he was, blood pouring from his head and all he had to say was hey guys.

"Ya feel sick or dizzy?" Daryl found another flashlight in the backpack and shone it in Carl's eyes. His pupils shrunk down in a normal reaction.

"I felt sick. But then I had nap and once I felt better I came here. I'm sorry,"

"You dumb ass, you had a nap. We were worried sick," Sophia cussed indignantly, hitting him upside his aching head.

"Ow. I said sorry, I didn't mean too,"

"Take it easy, Miss," Daryl put an arm in between them before they started fighting. "He's fine. That's all that matters, right?"

"Yeah," Sophia grudgingly admitted.

She was not impressed. How could he sleep in a time like this. She had felt so bad thinking that she had gotten them lost and Carl was sitting here all by himself.

They helped Carl down from the shelf. He was a little wobbly, Daryl was not ruling out a concussion.

Barks, yips, whines, and growls of the dogs kept them from going any farther then the trucks and warehouse. From the sounds of it, the dogs surrounded them and were getting closer all the time. They couldn't walk across the yard. They couldn't sit out here all night either.

A red rod stuck out of the backpack. Daryl pulled it out, it was one of the flares from the house.

If the dogs had truly gone as feral as their wolf ancestors, the flare should keep them at bay like a fire would.

Daryl popped the cap off the road flare, flooding the area in harsh red light. The kids huddled back, just in the shadows, the dogs hung back on the opposite side, eyes were small glowing orbs scattered randomly.

A german shepherd stepped forward. An arrow was sticking through its shoulder. He had shot a dog when they came in. It paced back and forth, the arrow causing a limp, it snarled a challenge from the back of its throat.

A power display like killing this bold one should scare the rest of them into backing off.

Daryl drew his knife from the scarab. The shepherd had crept further into the flare halo, its stride had shortened to two steps from side to side. Daryl held his ground, eyes watching its every move and trying to predict its next one.

Each pack watched on in anticipation and fear as their alpha males prepared to go down in a fight.

The high cries of another dog interrupted them. The shepherd charged past Daryl to its pack, jumping at the walker the Labrador with the bloody muzzle was pulling back from the crying dog, looking like the Halloween edition of the Coppertone ad.

The sick ones came from the shelter, brought out by the fire stick. They had smelled their rancid flesh when they walked in to the yard but were to hungry to care. The alpha ripped the throat from the walker who had grabbed one of their pack. His beta was already goading another sick one into while two subordinates jumped it from behind. The sick ones would not take their game again.

The fight was happening all around them, the attention was far from them.

"Ditch this, " Daryl grabbed the shirt Carl was holding to his head and threw it to the side. It was beginning to scab over so he was hardly bleeding now.

"Forklift, now, go," Daryl pointed them in the right direction, giving them a push "I'm right behind you,"

They did as they were told, running hand in hand to the forklift. Daryl brought up the rear, feeling of defiance intermingled with the jitters of fighting for self-preservation as well as the kids as if he was out in an alley in a bar fight on a typical Friday night.

The yard was chaotic. Dogs took on walkers. Walkers took on dogs. He veered off and knifed a walker preoccupied by some dogs. He went after a walker just off to the side before joining the kids at the forklift.

Daryl loaded the crossbow as they crouched behind it. From there they flitted over to a shrink-wrapped parcel and took a breather, watching for anything that would stand between them and the gate. He moved out first this time, then gave them the lead, falling behind to take out another walker that didn't even notice them.

Sophia and Carl came to a halt at the sound of the chain-link shaking violently. The bit of leash the shepherd had on its collar had gotten caught on the fence. It was choking itself, tongue lolling out of his mouth, whining desperately, trying to escape. A walker stumbled over to the doomed animal.

The sick one reached for him, making those awful noises normal humans didn't make. Bones cracked. It went down with a stick through its skull like the one in his shoulder. The adult male came up behind it. His collar suffocated him as he pulled harder.

The adult male pulled the stick out of his shoulder, then put a cutting tool near his neck. He cried out for the others but they had ran away, not one answered.

"Sniff 'round us again, I will make a rug outta ya," he growled.

With quick snap, the adult male cut him loose.

Daryl watched the dog run away into the dark. He couldn't kill it that way, not when he had been there himself a few hours ago. It may have been a mistake to let the shepherd go. But it knew he could kill it so hopefully that would be enough to make the feral pack leave them alone.

Out of the yard, they got to stop running. They weaved through the street. Sophia held on to one of Daryl's belt loops, that had been how he lead her over to the lumberyard when he saw the flashlight flicker from their tailgate.

An opened cattle car, as morbid as it was, was the only shelter they could find.

They crawled into back of the trailer and lay on the cold steel floor. The ventilation holes up the side left a pattern of light dots on the floor and made them all feel vulnerable. They had the whole trailer but they all stayed within arms reach, maybe closer.

"Why'd you take that bracelet?" Carl asked, looking at the very worn home made accessory on her wrist.

"That's what you do with friendship bracelets, you trade them and you'll always have a reminder of the person who gave it to you," Sophia explained.

"But you didn't know her,"

"No, but I want to remember her. When I die I want to be remembered,"

"Ain't no one dyin', " said Daryl.

The topic of conversation and Sophia's light voice was eerie and unhinging, echoing in the trailer where many animals had been transported for the slaughter.

There was the sound of shuffling of the backpack as Carl tried to rest his head on it comfortably. Sophia cried for a while, Daryl rubbed her back to get her to quit. He thought crying yourself to sleep was an expression until now.

It was silent after that. Still Daryl slept in small intervals, each time waking up Carl; asking him his parents name or how old he was. He answered correctly every time, the last time losing a bit of patience and may have said, "Quit it, butt munch,"

Moaning jarred him from the latest brief period of sleep. All hackles, Daryl tensed up. Sophia was also woken up by the noise, reached and grabbed his collar, catching his wild blues eyes before she realized what the sound was.

"Carl, Carl, its ok. Just a bad dream," Sophia shook Carl, the source of the noise awake.

The metal creaked as Carl propped himself up to look out the sides to the apocalyptic street in the moonlight.

"I'm scared," he admitted. "So scared"

A tiny whisper responded in words that had never been truer.

"We all are,"

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Guess what premiered! Hell on Wheels! Ya know the train show that was on after The Walking Dead. I like it and its return also means we're getting close to the premiere. 2 months.<p>

A many special thanks to all you guys who reviewed, I wish I could send you wicker baskets filled with those amazing little cupcakes, One for to: Dannie Tomlinson, Rebecca taylor, Ihasabukkit, Kountry101, Dixon Macmanus, MarionArnold, GhostWriter84, Narnian at Heart, WalkerScuzzie, Emberka-2012, piratejessieswaby, ArmedWithMyComputer, 6747, JesseGlennFan, Missy92, Fluffiet, Bares His Teeth, tarzlady65, jemlou, Mackdukey, war90, kutoki, writergirl94, Killerbee77, Ali R, kdoggt, but-the-clouds,Mike797, Guest, LeanneDaseyLover.

A few of you said you don't like Carl in the show but you like him in my story. If I didn't read the comics, Carl might have died in March, so I get where you're coming from. I chose to highlight my favorite Carl moment from Volume 9; Here We Remain in this chapter. There were some direct lines from it in this chapter. Also from the comics in this one: lazy lurkers in the storage house.

If you click on my story cover up at the top, it will give you a larger image of it. You might be able to read their names now. I can but my view is biased.


	19. Something To Say

To the Guest who was harassing me (more then one review about it and caps lock) about Canadian word usage, i.e gravol and girl guides. I'm going to put this in universal terms, so Internet terms. I want you to go to Google images and type in "Not a single f was given that day".

I'm a busy person, making sure my igloo doesn't melt with all this global warming and I don't have time to look up every little thing. Get a britpick you say, since you neglected to leave your name guess you aren't willing to help out. I do have an amazing American friend (AAF) on here, but I can't be asking her all the time either because I know she is busy and I don't know everything on Canadian shelves, how can she know everything on American shelves, so it could go like this:

Delta9: Hey do you have blah blah blah in the states?

AAF: I'm not sure. Probably.

Delta9: could you go to the store and check. I want to post my next chapter.

Yeah that's not going to work.

So here is how going to work from here on out, I'm Delta9 and I am Canadian! I used the term girl guides again, I thought about changing it but didn't because now I'm using it to mark my territory, (this story and only the story, see previous disclaimers for proper ownership) when you read girl guides know that it basically me pissing in the corner.

Yikes. Ok that was a weird thing to say.

That was my lead in to this chapter, appropriately titled: Something To Say

* * *

><p>A small gasp and a jolt from Daryl lying right next to her, took Sophia from half awake to wide awake and ready to run in an instant. She pressed her in to the cold steel floor, waiting for Daryl to pick up the crossbow.<p>

There was no rasping. No rotting hands coming in through the air holes like she had been thinking about during her too many waking moments last night. Despite the threat of being belted if she invaded his space again still fresh in her mind, that worry was the reason she was so close to Daryl. He was by far the lesser of two evils.

"What is it?" she whispered when nothing continued to happen yet Daryl jerked again.

"Not-hic- hing," Daryl answered with another jerk.

Here they were in, pressed into cattle car, cold and hungry, hiding from walkers and dogs and Daryl Dixon had the hiccups. Sophia could not help but burst out laughing.

"Ain't funny, I've –hic- had 'em for the past –hic- hour,"

"Wassa going on?" Carl asked groggily. Even he wasn't able to burrow in to his usual deep sleep in this environment.

"Daryl has hiccups," Sophia giggled.

"I've told ya – hic – it ain't funny," Daryl repeated himself with less bite, "startin' – hic - ta hurt."

"Awe, that's not funny," Sophia said, tapping Carl "what do we have to drink?"

Carl rolled off his make shift pillow and undid the zipper around the top. He already knew there wasn't much in the backpack; he looked in despite that knowledge with the small hope that he had overlooked something in his flurry of thoughts about spending the night alone in the lumberyard.

"I've tried – hic – that drinking upside down – hic – shit and – hic – it doesn't work," said Daryl, aside from the cursing sounding like a petulant child.

"It's worth a shot or do you want to be that way for another hour?" Sophia said gently, as if she was talking to petulant child and not a full grown, cranky redneck.

Daryl shook his head and groaned as another hiccup wrenched fatigued stomach muscles. Sophia stifled a giggle, it was still sort of funny even if Daryl looked miserable.

"All we got is whiskey and cakesters," Carl broke the bad news.

The kids looked to him the same way they did when they got into the house on their first night, also same as when they got stomachaches the very next day. The wide-eyed look of vulnerability that said Daryl was the responsible one and they were counting on him to look after them.

Going into their sixth day together, at least he had learned how to look after them enough that that look didn't freak him out anymore.

"Bet we can scavenge – hic – up some food outside. We'll be alr-hic-ight,"

The kids didn't understand the last and arguably most important bit because it came out too garbled with the hiccup in the middle.

"We're gonna be just ..–hic – "he reiterated, waiting for the hiccup so he wouldn't have to say it a third time. "- fine,"

They were finally out of dodge. The town was a wall of buildings behind them. The street opened up to the sunrise on the horizon. The dawn rays slowly and swiftly won territory in the street, reducing the darkness to shadows hiding behind the far sides of vehicles.

Daryl looked over the graveyard of vehicles, picking out the ones that had the most potential for supplies, i.e the ones that had impossible amount of stuff crammed in the back. He lifted up the hatchback of a van with a whoosh of well-oiled hydraulics.

"Carl, you still – hic – have the gun?"

_No I don't. _His mind shrieked, aware of that empty spot at his hip.

Carl thought back to the last place he remembered having it. It had been in the truck with them for sure because he remembered wrapping his hand around the handle at one point of the night. Then he got worried that he'd accidently fire it so…

"Wait a minute," he dug it out of the front pouch of the backpack and held it out to Daryl, "yep."

"Keep it,"

Pride made him feel as if he had grown ten feet tall as he tucked the gun back to the spot at his hip.

" Hic - you two stay here -"

"No!" Sophia interrupted, she didn't like where that sentence was going.

"Ah lemme finish," Daryl's habit of talking with his hands made Sophia draw back as a finger came down inches from her nose, "I'll just be over there -hic - searching that -hic- silver one, "

Even though this silver one was right beside the van, she still didn't like the idea at all but Daryl had walked off before she could bring up the irrefutable facts of what happened every time they split up.

"Jackass," she didn't yell it but could've said it quieter.

"Ya can call me a jackass – hic - all ya like from there, but so ya know I can hear you."

They could hear him too, still very much plagued by the hiccups.

There were plenty of camping supplies in the van. Carl found a lantern and some sleeping bags, which could've come in handy last night, as for the problems of here and now there was no food. Sophia didn't find anything on her half of the trunk as she was constantly looking over her shoulder from left to right, she would have spun her head around in a circle if she could.

"Don't worry so much," Carl pulled the gun out and pointed it down the street, "I got us covered,"

"Last thing you killed was a measuring cup," she rolled her eyes.

Her snarky little comment didn't bother him for two reasons. First, Carl had killed a walker and Sophia had killed absolutely nothing so she couldn't throw stones at all. Secondly he was the one Daryl had entrusted the gun to.

"That's what I was aiming for," said Carl brightly.

His cheery delivery of his comeback made Sophia regret being snippy with him. She promised herself that she would keep her frustration with the circumstance directed at only the circumstance and not at the people who were in the exact same boat.

As Daryl went through the Hyundai, his opinion on how stupid people were jumped up to new heights. Over half the stuff in there was electronic. Why the hell did they even bother to pack a curling iron? Was having curly hair really that important?

He did find food, too bad it was once a frozen pizza if the somewhat ledigible label was to be believed.

Carl and Sophia had disappeared, vanished into thin air. He had heard them chattering away three seconds ago.

"Hey," he barked "Sophia –hic- Carl."

No answer.

There would've been screaming if anything had come after them recently. They probably just went around to check the front. Daryl circled the van. They were gone.

"Carl. Sophia," he called again, "c'mon, sing out."

The world and everything in it shrunk down to that empty stretch of road. Fear gripped him tightly for the one-hundredth time, squeezing his heart tightly so that small, rapid pumps were all it could manage.

_Ok, breathe. _He calmed himself before he blew a heart valve._ They have to be around here somewhere. _

The patter of footsteps behind him made him spin around. Stalled car. Stalled car. A plastic bag snaked along the ground in the slight breeze. Small feet. The kids ran right out in front of him. Sophia slammed on the breaks when she saw him and Carl rammed in to her.

Daryl was ready to shoot whatever was chasing them. Nothing jumped out at them. He lowered the crossbow and glared at the guilty looking pair in a this-better-be-good way.

"Sounds like your hiccups are gone," Carl said while Sophia sidestepped behind him. Scaring the hiccups out of Daryl and how to do it had been entirely his idea.

Daryl opened his mouth but closed it. He had to hand it to them. His hiccups were gone. However he couldn't be too grateful, they had went above and beyond the call of scaring the piss out of him. "Consider me not beatin' y'all a thank you."

Carl purposed a high five, Sophia accepted with clap and Daryl more or less suppressed a growl as he continued down the backlogged road.

He was sort of mad at himself over how easy it had been for them to purposely scare him. Their giggling behind his back at a job well done was not helping.

The kids hung back a little ways while Daryl made sure the coast was clear on the next block of the street. It was and he waved them forward.

Rotten. He knew that smell anywhere. They were on constant alert for it.

Despite how they smelled, he'd learned the other night that the sick ones were edible. Finding some dead ones where he got split from the rest of the pack. He still hadn't found his pack but he had found them and they were heading right fore it.

"Aaahh!" One of them screeched.

"Ever hear of the boy who cried-" Daryl turned around to say.

They were really crying wolf or rather shepherd, as the familiar furry face from last night stood between them. However the shepherd was not attacking them. It was going after something underneath a Fed-Ex truck.

A triple amputee geek had grabbed Carl by the ankle with its one remaining limb, that's why they had screamed. The shepherd was merely keeping its snapping jaw from making contact with him with its own snapping jaw.

An arrow ended the dispute.

Tail tucked between its legs, the shepherd crept slowly to Daryl and licked his hand.

The enemy of their enemy was their friend.

Daryl grabbed its collar and read the name roughly engraved on the tag. Their nemesis' name was Sam.

"Well Sam, you are lucky I won't eat dogs," Daryl told the dog, rubbing under its muzzle till Sam looked like he was smiling. "Not much meat on ya anyway."

In the light and without all the growling and snarling, Sam was not the dangerous beast that had a pack of ferocious feral dogs at his back. He was just an ordinary dog, typical German shepherd black saddleback marking and a dark nose, a little mangy from lack of attention.

Carl thanked Sam for saving him with scratch behind his large pointed ear, not caring that he still wore Sam's teeth marks on his arm. That seemed to be from a different dog. Sophia gave him a quick pat on the head, she was a little leery of him.

While their search for any sustenance in nearby vehicles continued, Sam tore strips off the walker. Nothing goes to waste in nature.

* * *

><p>Heat waves blurred and bent the view of the open road and the four silhouettes crossing it; a man, a boy, a girl, and a dog.<p>

They had had one small break The heat was suffocating and making everything feel worse; their empty stomachs, their aches from sleeping on steel, the tiredness hanging on behind their eyes and despite the temptation, the awareness that they had to ration the water they had managed to find.

"Are ya tryin' to pull my pants down, darling," Daryl rounded on Sophia when she very clumsily latched on to his belt when Sam growled at something. He was unused to being grabbed so much.

Carl snickered. There wasn't much to laugh at lately.

"No. I..uh" Sophia stammered, going pink with embarrassment.

To be fair, the past five times Sam growled there was always a walker nearby.

"I'm messing with ya, Missy,"

"Don't call me that," Sophia snapped.

"Watch that tone," Daryl got equally as snappy.

_He might understand if you explain it to him. _Sophia thought.

"My dad use to call me that when I was in trouble,"

"Oh," he said softly. He more than understood why she got defensive. Being called son still made Daryl's blood run cold.

She looked over to him and could tell Daryl was grasping for something more to say.

"Its ok. You didn't know" Sophia let him off the hook, but had to add, "and Merle told me you're kinda a spaz."

"Am not,"

Sophia put herself in front of him and stood up on her tippy toes. Daryl took a step back, unsure of what she was doing.

"You got a eye booger that's been bugging me for the past hour," Sophia brushed at the corner of his eye.

"And you call me a spaz," Daryl said putting up with it as best as he could.

"Hold still and I didn't. Your brother did."

Sam started whining and jumped between them, herding Sophia backwards.

Killer. A smaller pack member had been killed by a pack of these odd smelling sandy colored ones. He puffed himself up. He wasn't going to let that happen again to one of these small ones.

Daryl picked up a rock and chucked it at the coyote that was bothering Sam. Sam went to run after it but when Daryl dragged him on by the collar.

"Coyotes are tricky sons of bitches. They send one of their pack out to bait a dog into chasing it and once they lead it far enough out, the rest of 'em jump in an' rip it to bits." Daryl explained his violence, "Nearly lost my dog to them. Cost me a fortune in vet bills"

They walked for what felt like a thousand more miles. It didn't seem to be getting them anywhere.

"How much farther is the highway?" asked Carl.

Daryl had the option of lying but he went with the truth. They'd figure it out eventually. "We ain't going back to the highway."

"What?" Carl exclaimed, practically shouting "Why not?"

" 'Cause every time we walk out there we end up almost becoming dinner." Daryl pointed down the road, "look we stay on this county road, it'll run up to the highway eventually and we can stay along it instead of taking the highway."

"But what if it doesn't?" Carl asked obstinately.

"Still heading in right direction. It's gonna be a lot safer. Its simple math the bigger the road the more walkers on it or have ya not noticed?"

"We have to go back to the highway!" Carl stopped in the middle of the road. "We'll walk right by the camp,"

"Yer gonna have to come up with a lot better reason then that 'cause that dog won't hunt. The way they set up camp, I'll see 'em from two miles away and I'd be able to sneak in and jump half of them before they noticed."

_Yeah fucking right. _Carl thought. His faith was strong that his dad would notice and put quick stop to whatever he meant by jumping.

Carl looked over to Sophia, who had been silently watching, his eyes pleading for her to take his side.

Walking right by the camp sounded awful but Daryl was right about there being lot of geeks on the highway from the little bit of it they were on.

"Well um maybe if we stay together," Sophia said the only thing that she cared about.

"Yeah and Sam will warn us if there's any geeks,

"All the notice in the world won't prepare is for a swarm of walkers. This ain't up for discussion. Now heel toe."

Daryl stormed off. He wasn't the only one.

"Daryl," Sophia called after him.

"Drop it."

"Daryl!"

He knew the Sophia panic alarm when he heard it and turned around to see what she was hollering about. The only one on his heels was Sam. Sophia was still standing in the middle of the road and Carl was walking in the opposite direction.

He could get to the highway on his own and find their group. Then Sophia would be sorry she didn't come with him and Daryl would look damn stupid.

"You got 'bout three seconds to turn yer ass around."

Carl walked another three seconds farther away.

"I'm not taking your way, I'm going to the highway." Carl informed Daryl when he came up behind him.

"The hell ya are,"

Daryl grabbed him by the shoulder. Carl shrugged him off. A hard rock dropped in her stomach and Sophia shut her eyes because she knew what was coming next.

The hit was as sharp as a gunshot.

Shock got to Carl before his cheek started to sting. He never gotten hit by an adult before. It was a bigger blow than the actual hit. He couldn't react because there were too many emotions competing in his head.

"Here are your only choices, you can drop the brat act or git hit again," Daryl said towering over him in a new way.

Carl retraced his steps back to Sophia and Sam.

_The kid had it coming. _Daryl thought. All the same he couldn't look Sophia in the eye when he passed by to regain his spot as the lead, too afraid of how she might look at him. The tingling in his palm was judgmental enough.

"Daryl knows what he's doing," Sophia tried to comfort him.

"Did he know what he was doing when he did that?" Carl pointed at the faded bluey bruise on her arm.

"He didn't mean it," Sophia bristled.

"Sure looks like he did."

She crossed her arms, covering the bruise with her hand. It was Carl's own fault he got hit. He wasn't listening so she didn't blame Daryl for what he did but it made her wonder if there was any hope at all of teaching an old dog new tricks.

* * *

><p>"Carl's not looking so good," said Sophia. It was the first thing that had been said since everyone stopped talking to each other.<p>

The boy was lagging behind. Daryl just thought the kid was pissed at him. As he watched Carl catch up to them, he could see that each step was taxing him.

"Hey buddy," Daryl said.

"We ain't buddies," muttered Carl.

His eyes were glazed and there was a touch of confusion in them. Be it heat stroke or sunstroke or heat exhaustion, the proper name didn't matter. What did matter was getting him out of the sun. He lead them off the road to a bit of shade provided by a bush windrow and a small pond nested in low spot.

The next thing Carl knew he was sitting in the ditch. Daryl was talking to him but it was almost if he couldn't understand the words and his shirt was being yanked over his head.

"…gotta cool ya down," Daryl splashed some water on him.

"Won't you go to the ninth level of hell for this?" Carl asked.

"I think we're already there," grinned Daryl.

When he looked a more alert than confused. They joined Sophia and Sam in the shade and enjoyed the cool grass.

Anger was all they had to fuel them lately but it had burnt out now.

Carl put his head in Sophia's lap and tried to smile at her so she wouldn't look so worried. He wasn't able to keep it up very long.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"My stomach kinda hurts and I have a headache,"

During her time as a girl guide, Sophia had learned some first aid, about what to do if someone's hurt and you're waiting for help. They learned that singing to people calms them even if it was Christmas carols. Sophia was lucky they had a better song and she didn't have to sing about snow in the middle of a Georgian heat wave.

"_I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean," _

"What is it with you two an' that damn song? There are other songs ya know," Daryl snapped.

He barely knew the song so whenever they mentioned it or worse started singing it. He heard the one line, I hope you dance, play over and over and over and over again in his head, which was probably what the eighth level of hell was like.

"Sorry I don't know all the words to free bird," Sophia said quietly.

" 'scuse me,"

"Sorry, just said sorry."

_Could you not be you for ten minutes. You think your tired and hungry, try being pint-sized. _

The kids looked like they had been run through the mill. Faces dirty and flushed, Carl was sick and now Sophia looked on the verge of tears.

"_If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me? For I must be traveling on now. Cause there's too many places I've got to see,"_ Daryl started singing. Awkwardly.

Sophia perked up a little, wiping her eyes.

"_But, if I stay here with you girl. Things just couldn't be the same," _

" "_Cause I'm as free as a bird now." _Sophia joined in. Guess she's wasn't lying about not knowing all the words. _"And this bird you cannot change."_

"_And this bird you cannot change"_ Sophia and Daryl belted the song out at the top of their lungs. _"And this bird you cannot change. Lord knows I can't change," _

"You're not helping my headache at all," moaned Carl, but he was smiling.

Sam jumped up and went crashing through the bushes behind them.

"He doesn't like your singing either," joked Carl.

When the dog didn't come back, Daryl ventured through the bushes after him.

From the other side of they could hear him whistling.

"Sam," Daryl whistled again, "Sam. Here boy."

When it went quiet, Carl pulled on his shirt and pushed through the bush. Sophia, of course came with him.

Daryl was staring out at the field, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. "Tell me I ain't the only one who sees a building,"

A lonely building was standing in the distance. It looked like it could be a house.

"Maybe there's food in there," Carl said.

"And something to drink," Sophia added.

Even though it was off the county road, they came to a consensus to check it out.

They walked across the field very cautiously as if each hay bale could have five walkers behind it. Sam popped out from behind one and nearly got stuck with another arrow.

It wasn't a house. It was an old community hall. Daryl pulled on the door and was very surprised when it opened.

There were no walkers inside, there was nothing inside. All it was was a large room with wooden floor, folding tables were pushed against one wall, chairs stacked against another. They walked through it and checked out the small kitchen.

"Can't catch a fucking break can we?" Daryl grumbled, shutting the last empty cupboard shut hard.

Spirits dampened before they had even had a chance, they pushed the back door open.

They couldn't believe their eyes.

A playground.

The kids were frozen.

They forgot they were hungry. They forgot that they had been on their feet all day. They forgot they were scared.

Seeing the playground made them remember what they were. They were kids.

In a rare moment of maturity, Daryl felt happiness bubble in his chest as he watched them run off. It was good to know that the life they were living now had not beaten that out of them.

They stopped running and looked back at him with bright eyes.

_Come on Daryl. Come play with us. _

* * *

><p>Author's note: More Title trivia. Tell me where it's from and who said it? Win bragging rights or if you need me to vote for your cat, dog or llama on some online cutest battle, I could do that.<p>

A special thanks to Effigy, Dixon McManus, Rat and Guest who alerted me to my infamous phantom sentences in the last two chapters. I'm going to admit (even though it embarrassing as hell) that those phantoms of mine have gotten worse lately. I blame summer laziness. All the same I'm definitely going to be on a careful look out for unfinished sentences from now on. It took balls considering how hostile people can get on the Internet (which we saw at the beginning.) and I'm really grateful that you had those balls. I'm trying to be a better writer and like anything how to do that is practice, which is where I feel that writing this story has helped me improved quite a bit. Hopefully I'll get some time to reread the 7th Harry Potter and take some notes on how J.K Rowling did her action scenes. Because I do need to work on that as well.

Thanks for sticking with me through thick and thin, I seriously can't thank all of you enough, BTW I'm hugging my computer screen right now, I hope you can feel the warm fuzzies I feel: Piratejessieswaby, Ihasabukkit, Rebecca taylor, Effigy, JesseGlennFan,6747, Dixon Macmanus, SuperNeos2, Killerbee77, ArmedWithMyComputer, writergirl94, Dannie Tomlinson, MarionArnold, Rat, Ali R, tracys dream, I Am Atrocity, kdoggt, Mackadukey, but-the-clouds, Guest I, Bares His Teeth, lucidscreamer, Guest. 

SuperNeos2 got all the lines from the comic I put in with Carl. 20 points to Gryffindor.

Sam was for Ihasabukkit, and our favorite childhood books, Island of the Blue Dolphins. In it the native girl befriends the leader of the wolf pack after almost killing it.

Daryl slapping Carl thats was for me. I've wanted to see that since I started watching Game of Thrones and Tyrion slapped Joffrey.

Yours humbly and truly

Delta9

p.s There is a 18 min film online "Play Dead" about dogs and zombies. Google it.


	20. Still Such A Kid

First order of business.

SuperNeos2 - is on fire with the challenges. Last chapter's title was said by Andrea in the deleted scene from "What Lies Ahead" (S2.E1), they go back to the Vatos' nursing home and everyone is each other's throat, which is why I picked it. The clip was floating around a few days before the release of Season 2 on DVD and I strongly advise watching it.

A tackle hug to Ihasabukkit, whose last few chapters of _Three Trees_ gave me a strong inspiration point regarding that young kid in Daryl and for helping me reword some lines so it would make sense.

Tigilus "Tig" Ramelius (SOA fan?)– A huge thanks for the very helpful tip about peppering in some effective sensory details. I felt like I've been missing something and you found it.

Griffin1776- Thank you for the anniversary wishes. Here's to many more.

* * *

><p>The crossbow hung on a pole at the top of the slide. The breeze knocked it against the metal and it sounded off with the <em>clang <em>of something forgotten. Over top of the clashing of the out of place weapon was the squeaking of rusty hinges and of laughter, which made the clanging from the crossbow even lonelier.

" 'Kay. One. Two. Three," yelled Carl.

At the end of three, they stopped running and held on for dear life as the faded yellow and blue merry–go-round spun around and around, swirling the field, the hall, and the playground, everything meshed together in a complete blend of colors.

The world grew more defined as the merry-go-round gradually slowed and it became less of a struggle to keep a hold on to the handlebars. Daryl aided the slow down by dragging his heel. It was hard to say when it stopped when they still felt like they were spinning around.

Carl stumbled off in to the grass and keeled over. Him saying he had an upset stomach a while ago came to mind of both Daryl and Sophia, so even though he tried his best to hide that he was going to be sick and hold it down, unbeknownst to Carl, they already knew.

Because they still had had nothing to eat. Nothing came up except for a bit of sweet tasting stomach acid. Carl spat it out and took some deep breaths to get control of the heaving. His stomach very much wanted to be sick.

Grass tickled the inside of his palm as he grabbed a tightly as if trying to hold his ailing tummy down physically somehow.

A cold, wet nose poked at his face. Then a even wetter tongue raked his forehead, leaving behind a disgustingly wet trail of saliva. Sam continued to prod at Carl with his nose until he raised his head and gave the concerned shepherd a pet.

"I'm fine," he told his other companions who had also come to his side with the same look of concern.

All the same, they decided that trying to get up to warp speed on the merry-go-round was a bad plan (for the moment anyway) and took a break on the swings. As luck would have it there was three of them.

"You think you're going to get sick again?" asked Sophia seated in the middle, Carl to her right was looking down at the ground.

It was an innocent enough of a question but Carl still felt annoyed by it and it showed in the way he rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'll live."

As someone else with a Y chromosome, Daryl understood why the question rubbed Carl the wrong way.

"That didn't count as being sick," Daryl brushed it off, "so we've still gone what? Four, five days without someone pitchin' their cookies."

Carl looked around Sophia to thank Daryl for not being all mom-ish on him. The older man winked at him.

"It was pop tarts, not cookies and it's been five days," Carl said expertly.

That gave way to a whole new sickness. Homesick.

They hadn't thought about the length of time they had been gone for, too busy trying to live to the next morning. In the calm, it echoed. It had been five days since they both got sick in the garage, plus the initial night they got split up, that made six nights. They had been on their own for nearly a week.

They looked across the long stretch of field under an endless sky. The bareness made them feel so alone, so lost, a feeling that the warmth of sun on their faces couldn't diminish.

A day shy of a week and there had been no signs of the rest of the group.

They could hear songbirds. Their chipper little tunes rang out over the sun-bathed field. It seemed like forever since they had heard birds, as if once the world ended, the birds just stopped singing. Then again, maybe the birds hadn't taken notice of the apocalypse; everyone else had just stopped noticing their songs.

"We could sing for you some more," Sophia joked.

"I don't think hearing Free Bird again is gonna help."

"I'm impressed you guys know it," said Daryl, rocking himself back and forth on the swing.

"A course we know it. If we didn't, they'd kick us outta Georgia," Sophia put on a southern accent that sounded a lot like Daryl's.

An old sore flared up. From elementary to about middle school, Daryl had been bullied by a couple of boys whose own accents were only more subtly than his. It stung enough to motivate him to try to shake his accent. He'd study the way words sounded when people said things on TV and tried to repeat what he heard.

Obviously the accent prevailed to be a small thorn in his side.

However there was nothing malicious in her voice, nothing cruel in the way she smiled at him. The girl probably didn't have a single mean bone in her body. So why did she do it?

Sophia's smile faltered when she didn't get one from Daryl in return. He sat with his shoulders kind of hunched over, his hands curled on the rubber of the seat. For once, Daryl wouldn't keep eye contact, his eyes would drop down to his knees which were bent up, adding to further to the illusion of him being smaller than he was, they would always come back to her though.

Daryl looked so unsure. It was as if he was two people. There was the Daryl from camp, the one who was always shouting and fighting. The one she was afraid of. Then there was this Daryl, the one with hidden scars on his back, sitting shyly on the swing. The one who reminded her of Tucker.

* * *

><p>"I didn't get to finish yours. I was trying to tie blue in," Maddie showed her a half finished friendship bracelet. At the bottom of the purple thread, a blue thread was attached to it in a large knot that the smaller knots that made up the bracelet would have a hard time overcoming.<p>

Sophia would've just put blue in as color strand all its own but Maddie was always trying to do something new with her bracelets. She hadn't had an idea that had worked yet but she might someday. In the mean time it was the thought that counted.

"I'm not making Emma one, she was being such a bit-" Sophia tied her finished project on to Maddie's wrist.

A honk cut into their conversation, providing the perfect censor for her best friend. Maddie's mom's burgundy car pulled up in front of the school, wipers going full bore to fight off the torrential downpour.

"I gotta go or else I'm going to be late for dance see you tomorrow," said Maddie. She gave Sophia a hug, "I'll get yours done tonight. Promise."

Sophia watched her best friend run through the yard to the waiting car. She hoped Maddie hadn't gotten too wet, she heard stories of how strict the local dance instructor was. But Maddie could dry off in the car whereas she would get soaked to the skin if she tried to walk home in this rain.

So Sophia tucked herself in the corner under the concrete arches to wait out the rainstorm. It would probably start letting up in the next half hour.

She dug her math textbook out of her backpack, along with the accompanying yellow notebook and started making a dent in her homework.

The large, metal doors swung open. Sophia pulled her legs into avoid getting hit by them.

A boy in a slightly oversized jeans and a t-shirt with a stretched collar stepped out. He looked out at the gloomy sky before he took a seat on the ground across from her under the sheltered overhang to wait out the rain.

His name was Tucker. He was in her class this year. He moved here last year but was in the other class. She didn't know much about him other than he lived down the street from her and since he was even quieter than Sophia was. She was only quiet in large groups but would be loud when she was with her friends. Tucker was always quiet.

She finished up a particular hard problem and flipped to the back to check her answer. It was wrong. She tried again. The end result was a different answer but it wasn't the correct one.

"Did you get five C done?" Sophia asked him.

Tucker looked at her briefly and nodded, turning to the face the rain dripping down inches from his nose.

Sophia scooted over to sit beside him, Tucker shuffled a bit in surprise, accidently elbowing her.

"Could you show me how you did it?"

"You have to bring the L over with the seven," Tucker explained, tapping the blue line by the fourth step.

He helped her with the next few questions when Sophia's eraser started leaving black smudges from overuse. One of the last questions required Tucker to pull out his own, rather beaten notebook and in slow detail show Sophia step by step how to solve it.

"You're smart," Sophia said, when she got through it with the right answer.

"No I ain't," Tucker mumbled to his dirty shoes as he fiddled with the tied shoelace.

"Smarter than me."

"Naw, math's just figuring out numbers. You just got to get the hang of it, then you can do any question."

They sat in an almost comfortable silence, listening to the rain drip down on the concrete

"I really liked your poem," said Tucker out of the blue as if he had been waiting to say so.

"Thanks."

It sounded like Tucker was the only one who liked her poem. Sophia wished she never wrote the damned thing.

"It got you sent to the principle's office, didn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Mrs. Gallagher told them that the best poems come from the heart, from something real in your life.

When Sophia sat down to write that stupid, stupid poem, all she heard was her dad's voice and her mother crying in the kitchen from beyond her bedroom door. She listened it to with the pen trembling in her hand and then took out all that heartbreak and she put it down on paper in to verses.

Those verses got her a ticket to the principle's office to talk with the principle and the guidance councilor about her home life. What they meant by talk was ask her a bunch of uncomfortable questions she didn't want to answer about things they didn't understand.

Her throat got that tight, stinging sensation that came right before her eyes started watering.

No one did.

"Ms. Babey was there too, wasn't she?" said Tucker, "she go on about how you could trust her and nothing was going to happen to you no matter what you said."

It was Sophia's turn to briefly hold his gaze, then nod out to the rain, wiping raindrops or tear drops off her sleeve. How could he know that?

"Same thing happened to me last year. I came to school with my nose busted up," the words didn't come out easy. More like he had to punch them out.

Sophia looked back over to her classmate with the second hand clothes and the crook in the bridge of his nose. She thought Tucker's nose had gotten broken in that fight he had with Levi. Tucker probably let everyone believe that. In his shoes she would've. In her own shoes, she already had done something similar.

The patter of the rain became less rhythmic as it began to come to a stop. It only seemed right that they walk home together. They'd talked about nothing of importance, just talking because there was someone listening to them.

They came up on Tucker's house first. He lingered at the end of the driveway.

"See you later, I s'pose," he said.

Sophia hugged him around the neck, she could feel the boy strain back against it but she didn't care.

"See you tomorrow," She whispered before letting go.

"Hey Tucker," Sophia called back to him a few steps later. "Don't think I'm going to go easy on you at the track meet just 'cause you helped me with math."

"Wouldn't want it that way," her rival shouted back.

Tucker won fair and square. But Sophia didn't go as hard as she could have because deep down she really wanted Tucker to win. She wanted him to feel as good as she did when he reached out to her and told her that she wasn't alone.

* * *

><p>Sophia nudged Daryl with her foot, pushing him a wee bit sideways. Both the kids were watching him eagerly and smiling from ear to ear. Their look had hardly changed from when they first saw the playground.<p>

Daryl couldn't get over it. After all he had put them through, that god-awful monster of his father surfacing to bite them both. They still could look at him with a look of… he actually didn't know the name for the kids expression. It was nothing Daryl had ever known.

It was warm.

"Don't bite your nails," Sophia finally spoke up about his dirty habit, Daryl was hardly aware he was biting his nails. "You'll get pin worms,"

"I've been biting my nails for a hundred years and never once got pin worms."

This was not the first time he was told he was going to get pin worms from biting his nails.

"What are pin worms?" asked Carl.

"Tiny little worms that live in your butt," explained Sophia casually, "and they come out a night to lay their eggs."

Carl looked over at Daryl with a look that can only be described as please-tell-me-she-is-nothing-but-a-dirty-rotten-liar.

"You don't get them from biting yer nails."

"Yes you can," persisted Sophia. She started pumping her legs back and forth to gain some height on the swing.

"No ya can't."

"Yes you can. The eggs get under your fingernails, seriously think about everything you touched today, and you're gonna end up eating them, then congratulations you have pin worms."

"Stomach acid will kill the eggs, smartie pants," said Daryl, not heeding her at all as he continued to work at biting off the rest of the fingernail.

"Guess it doesn't, because you can get them from biting your nails, so quit it."

"You quit it. I'm warnin' ya now, I was tha youngest in my family, I can keep this up the live long day," Daryl said, "or even longer."

"How 'bout we all quit talking about ass worms," suggested Carl.

"If I get pin worms, I'm blaming you," said Sophia after a brief pause.

"If I get pin worms, I'm gonna make sure you git 'em."

"If you give me pin worms, I will never ever ever talk to you again."

"Ya know it'd be hard to get use to at first but then it'd be just like when we first met up and you didn't talk to me."

On her next pass-by on the swing, the girl who once referred to him as sir out of fear tried to grab his arm, interrupting the fluid metronome motion of swing.

"Careful," said the man who up until last night really didn't know what to do when she got upset.

Daryl and Sophia had certainly come a long way in a short time.

"Quit biting or I'll jump," threatened Sophia, swinging back.

"Don't Soph," said Daryl, "You'll twist one of those spindly ankles an' I ain't gonna carry you around. "

Sophia made like she was going to jump as she swung forward but latched back on to the chains again.

"She wouldn't," challenged Carl.

Her eyes locked on to him as she passed back and forth. Sophia let go and soared through the air. She landed about a yardstick and a half away. Sophia skipped back and started swinging again.

"Betcha I could go higher," she stated.

Carl had never seen Sophia this carefree. Ever since they met on the traffic jam outside of Atlanta, she had always had something akin to worry lines crinkled in her between her eyebrows. This must have been what she was like before.

"We should play grounders," said Carl.

While they had been snapped out of their oppressing, yet practical fear but it was taking a little while to remember what they use to do at playgrounds to come back.

"Yeah," said Sophia in delight, jumping off the swing.

"How do ya play?" asked Daryl.

That warm, friendly look increased tenfold. Why were they so excited for him to play with them?

"Do you know how to play tag?" asked Carl.

"Yes, I know how to play tag. Exactly how old did ya think I am?"

"According to you, one hundred,"

They never gave up a chance to use his own words on him, did they? "And don't you forget it,"

"So its like tag. Say you're it,"

"He is it," Sophia stated.

"Oh yeah. You're it. So-"

"Wait, why am I it?"

"You're the oldest. The oldest is always it first," explained Carl, Daryl gave him a skeptical look, "we don't make the rules."

"So its like tag, you have to tag someone to not be it anymore. You can only come up on the playground if you keep your eyes closed. Me and Sophia can go on the ground but if one of us goes on the ground and you call grounders, whoever is on the ground is it."

Daryl nodded. Sounded simple enough.

Carl climbed up a rope mesh to one end of the playground. Sophia had climbed up on the opposite end of it via a slide.

"To start you have to call one two ten,"

"One two three fo-" Daryl counted.

"You only got to say one two ten," corrected Carl.

"One, two, ten?"

And with that the game was on.

Daryl walked around the perimeter. Even though it had been a shock to see, it was a typical playground. There were two aluminum slides, one was wide and the other was more of a spiral. There were monkey bars and one of those handlebars that slide back and forth on a track. Aside from a few spots it was all connected by a wooden walkway.

Carl ran up the walkway, dodging Daryl who reached over as he ran across the bridge to get up to the highest point of the platform.

With both of them up on the tallest platform, Daryl had no choice but to shut his eyes and climb up the small two rung ladder to the walkway. He kept a hand sliding along the railing as a point of reference. He came to the end, hitting the guardrail. He turned left towards the sound of feet stamping on the wooden planks.

If memory served him right coming up next should be the rickety bridge. Sure enough planks shifted under his feet. If Daryl was where he thought he was, they should be basically cornered unless they went down the slide.

Sophia followed Carl down the steps to the monkey bars. The only problem was that from there, they had nowhere to go except on the ground. They back tracked back up the steps. Daryl was up on the platform, feeling his way around like a blind man.

Complete silence. They had to be close.

Carl shrunk down to basically sitting down, Daryl was feeling around right above his head. Just when he thought he was safe, a hand came down on his shoulder.

Daryl opened his eyes when felt the soft fabric of Carl's shirt. The kid looked up at with

Carl slide down the fireman's pole. The friction caused hot little pinpricks in his palm.

"One, two, ten."

Carl wasted no time coming up on to the playground. Having longer to mesmerize the layout while he wasn't it, he had an easy time remembering where he could go and also the last known position of his companions.

Sophia held her breath and tried not to step too heavily. Carl came closer to her as if he could sense her presence. She shrank back again as far as possible.

Daryl had snuck across park, he climbed up on the outside ledge and over to the straight slide. He grabbed Sophia, pulling her down the slide with him. She rested against him at the bottom of the slide.

They had broken down a wall in the hunter to some completely hidden side of him. The stealthy walk had been dropped for one a lot more light on his toes and the steely eyes were alight with a playful happiness.

They moved together, Carl could hear them two sets of feet in close proximity. Then just one.

"Grounders!" Carl called hearing someone drop down.

"Son of a bitch," Daryl cursed

"Don't go on the ground then," Sophia advised.

_Shoulda let you get caught_, Daryl thought.

"One. Two. Ten," Daryl called defiantly. No sooner did the words leave his mouth. He jumped up and tapped the top of Sophia's shoe.

Grudgingly, Sophia climbed down. "I'm gonna get you for that."

"Nope, that was the last time I was it."

"One, two, ten."

She started out on the ground like they all did at first, she got up on the playground, relying on her hearing to catch them.

Carl got a little cocky and walked up to closely to her. A blind Sophia unknowingly shepherded Carl back to the dead end landing with the sliding bar. He grabbed up on to the bar and kicked off the platform, sliding across to the other side

Carl got stranded on the platform when the bar hit the back and rolled back out of reach.

Tip toeing around Sophia, Daryl made his way over to the rolling bar. He took a bit of leap and caught the out of reach bar, the momentum from the jump propelled him over to Carl and almost right off the little landing strip.

"You could've just passed it," whispered Carl.

"Yeah but where's the fun?" Daryl panted.

Carl didn't pass it back, only gave him a wicked but playful smile.

"Yer gonna pay for that."

Hearing all the commotion Sophia had made her way back on to the ground, and hence had her sight back to see that Daryl was screwed. At least that's what she thought.

She beelined straight for him. Daryl pulled himself up on to the top of the bar that the handlebar ran on.

"How ya gonna get me when I'm all the way up here," taunted Daryl, looking down at her.

"Daryl Dixon, you get down from there before you fall and break your legs, 'cause I won't be carrying you " Sophia said.

"Pfft," Daryl scoffed, "You just happen to be talkin' to the fastest sheep rider of the 1984 East Jesus No Wheres Rodeo."

"What does that have to do with it?" asked Carl.

"Why were you riding a sheep?" asked Sophia, "who does that?"

"I was the first place finalist in the proud tradition of mutton busting when I was lil' kid and to answer Carl's question, to ride any animal that is going full throttle just to get you off, you need to have a very tight grip and even better balance."

To prove his point, Daryl slowly stood up for a moment before having to crouch back down to walk over to the rest of playground.

The game continued. Sophia tagged Carl, Carl tagged Sophia back, who did sort of tag Daryl, he got busted on a grounders call again. It was basically impossible to touch him.

Sam watched them from the shade under the playground, occasionally disturbed by the person who was it. The dog enjoyed the sounds of them. It reminded him of his old family. He looked back towards the way they came, thinking of his new family.

They watched Daryl comb the left corner from a safe distance on the west wing of it, hanging around the monkey bars.

Carl looped his knees up through the monkey bars and pecked Sophia on the cheek while he hung upside down.

"It was a Spiderman kiss," he explained to her.

"Sophia and Carl sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-" Daryl teased, catching the kids being sweet on each other. Once more.

"Shut your butt," Carl called over to him

"Yer parents are going to embarrass ya worse if you carry on that way in front of them."

Carl and Sophia had been living in the moment. They never thought of any consequences. Like their parents making a big stinking deal out this after Daryl told them. They erupted into a squawking fit of "You better not tell them," "You can't"

They shut their mouths and ran back up to the top when he came got closer and they remembered that he was going to tag one of them, they retreated back up to the top and less hesitantly Daryl followed them up, chasing them all over the playground.

"Grounders!" Daryl called.

No one confessed to being down on the sand.

"I know one of you two went on the ground,"

"Jokes on you. I'm not on the ground, I'm on a turtle," said Carl off in the distance.

Daryl jumped over the side, once he felt landed in the sand he opened his eyes. Carl was standing on the shell of the large turtle in corner. It was slowly dawning on him that he had no place to go.

Carl made a break for the playground but was cutoff by Daryl.

Daryl wasn't going to call grounders. He wanted to run the boy down to catch him.

The boys ran out in to the field. Not wanting to be left behind, Sophia ran out after them. She reached them when the running had stopped and the rough housing began.

They reached them after the race had turned in to wrestling.

"Holler uncle" said Daryl as Carl futilely tried to pull back out of the headlock he was being held in.

His scalp was assaulted by Daryl's knuckles in a most unpleasant way. Carl being an only child had never experienced a good old fashion nuggy until now.

"Alright, alright you win." Carl gave in.

"Whoa, look at the sky," said Sophia.

A layer of gold rimmed where the field touched the sky. Above the halo the sky had been dyed a deep tangerine orange.

"That is pretty," said Daryl.

They stared up at sky in a trance.

"I gotta take a leak," Daryl wandered off behind a hay bale.

Carl seemed rooted to the spot. Sophia threw her arm around Carl's neck, which Carl did the same but he was still looking up at the sky, mesmerized by the vibrancy.

"You can see it," Carl said hushed, "It's the Kingdom of Heaven."

There was the Carl she knew. Not the one who got pissed off beyond reason over a highway detour. The one who could see all the good things that they had and despite it all kept faith.

She leaned in and put her lips on his. Unlike the other affectionate pecks they had been giving each other this was the real thing. The kind of kiss on movie screens; open mouth and everything. For both of them it was their first kiss.

Inexperience made it awkward. Their teeth hit against each other once. It didn't take away from the flutter of butterflies in their chests.

Daryl knew something was up when he came back. The way Sophia was smiling down at her shoes and Carl was blushing.

"Race ya back," Daryl challenged taking off across the field.

They didn't really take note of who won the race. They all reached the playground at roughly the same time.

The elongated shadows spread over the green grass didn't discriminate on age.

They were all the same under the sun.

They played and played, not noticing that a cool night air was starting to set in and raise goose bumps on their skin.

Not knowing that under that beautiful sunset a memorial service was being held for them.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Happy Thanksgiving.<p>

Yes I'm pushing my goofy Canadian timing on you. But I have to because I'm so thankful for all of you: War90, piratejessieswaby, SageK, SuperNeos2, BeingLolaStar, 6747, kdoggt, Ihasabukkit, Ali R, Dixon Macmanus, Rebecca taylor, Zenevieve-Son, Effigy, Narnian at Heart, Emberka-2012, Six, TwilightEclps, tracys dream, I Am Atrocity, tarzlady65, JesseGlennFan, MusicDefinesUsAll, VoodoInTheTARDIS (3x), Dannie Tomlinson, darkNnerdy, clennon/but-the-clouds, legin64, originalseriesstrekkie, sammyjase, writergirl94, MarionArnold, The Cocky Undead, Mackadukey, Biffel, Bare His Teeth, Kountry101, irishartemis, LeanneDaseyLover/Jessica, griffin1776, Number66, Tigilus "Tig" Ramelius.

Mutton Busting is a real rodeo event. Probably invented in Texas. If you want to go by the official rules, you stick a child under the age of six on a sheep weighing in at 180 lbs and let them go and see how long they can hold on but you can do with any small child and sheep. I saw some at my campground this summer and couldn't resist throwing it in.

Pin worms, unfortunately trues. it was something I learned about on Reddit and if I have to know about them, everybody does.

The song listings for this chapter:

1)Good Life – OneRepublic

2)Some Nights – Fun

3)We Are Young – Glee version.( I made up musical number in my head with Carl and Sophia singing it to a reluctant Daryl. I wish I had a machine that could project my thoughts so you could see it)

4)Boy inside the Man – Tom Cochrane & Red Rider.


	21. Can You Teach Me How To Shoot That

The noisy clatter of the door swinging shut woke Carl up. He wasn't one hundred percent sure there had been any noise or if it was the tail end of dream he could no longer remember.

Sophia was lying next to him on the hardwood floor, she started to stir, only to roll over to face the wall. The spot where Daryl had been sleeping was vacant except for the squares of sunlight from the window. Guess he had heard the door shutting.

Carl sat up and stretched, something cracked in his back in an almost good way. His whole body was sort of achy from the hours spent on sleeping on the unyielding floor. He tiptoed over to the door and very quietly pulled it open.

Daryl was sitting on the steps outside, letting the crisp morning air wake him up. He had slept better than last night, only woken up a few times when Sophia started crying. Even though they had the best night they had had in awhile, she set a new record for bawling her eyes. He had to get those kids back to their families.

He rubbed his forehead as he thought about the last couple of miles. They had been running on fumes yesterday, fumes of potato chips, jerky and chocolate from the Holiday Inn, so not even fumes of premium fuel. How much longer were they going to be able to keep that up? Actually he had had some alphagetti with Sophia the night before, but Carl as far as he knew had nothing since the hotel. That could possible be why Carl was the only one to get sunstroke.

"Good morning," greeted Carl. He sat down the second step, resting his back against the railing and stretching his legs out fully over the step. At least he looked better with a good night sleep on him.

"Mornin'" Daryl returned the salutation, "ya think it'll be a good one?"

"Maybe. If not we always got the afternoon."

Shortly after his answer, Carl started to think that Daryl might not have meant good overall but rather good between them.

"_Here are your only choices, you can drop the brat act or git hit again,"_

Carl recognized that he was in fact being brat. He would've gotten in trouble with anyone else acting the way he did but instead of getting smacked clean across the jaw, anyone else would've handled the situation with a lot more maturity than Daryl.

Maybe it was because his parents had twelve years of raising him to go off whereas Daryl had Carl as well as Sophia thrown at him overnight. That couldn't be an easy thing to adjust to.

But then again Shane didn't have any kids and he would've never ever hit him.

Adults were supposed to act like adults. Yet here sat Daryl, looking very much like an adult but behaved unlike any adult Carl knew, especially when he was angry.

What also confused Carl was how they both seemingly forgot about the fight. They didn't talk for at least an hour afterwards. Then everything went back to normal as if it hadn't been anything at all.

* * *

><p>"You ask," said Sophia as they approached the camp with the white and blue pickup and motorcycle.<p>

"What? It was your idea," said Carl.

They stayed on the outskirts of the little camp, squabbling over who was going to ask when a large shadow shut them up. Merle Dixon eyed them up in a not completely unfriendly way but definitely annoyed by their intrusion.

They should've just stuck with the shoelaces. Carl did not like the Dixons. They were the living embodiment of the cautionary tales his parents would tell him about the bad people out there.

"Y'all need somethin'?" he asked.

"We were wondering if we could borrow a small strap?" The words got scared out of Sophia's mouth, she spoke so fast it was a wonder Merle understood what she said. (Unbeknownst to them was her wide eyes were what prematurely sealed the deal)

"One with like a hook at the end," specified Carl nervously.

"Whatcha need it for?" asked Merle.

"For sticks," Sophia blurted.

"We're making a teepee," explained Carl.

"I think we got some bungee chords, but best ask the fucking strap master. " Merle waved them around the side of the truck, where the lower half of his brother was hanging out from underneath it. Merle put his finger up to his lips and booted his brother in the gut, eliciting a bit of a muffled cry.

"Fucking cocksucker," Daryl growled, crawling out from under the truck.

"Whoa virgin ears here," Merle pointed over at them. "They want to borrow bungee cords that could handle the weight of some twigs."

Wordlessly Daryl hopped into the box of the truck and started rooting through a crate, he handed them a

"Hold up I got a better one somewheres - hey, barbeque peanuts," Daryl unscrewed the lid on the half full container of peanuts and popped a few in his mouth. "Still good."

"Ya never pass up a chance to put nuts in yer mouth, do ya?"

Carl had no idea what that meant but it completely pissed off Daryl. He lunged out of the truck on to his older brother, who almost went over but managed to stay on his feet and throw Daryl off. Merle retaliated with a punch, so Daryl hit him back.

It was like a bad scene in a movie, Carl kept telling himself to look away but his eyes were glued to the frighteningly violent scene in front of him. He did manage to look over to his tent for Shane to break up the fight before someone got killed. His mother was watching, as was basically everyone else. When he looked back Merle was kneeling on Daryl's chest.

"Ya done now?" Merle asked his pinned brother.

"Yes," Daryl managed to gasp.

"Yes what?"

"Yes I'm done."

The brothers went their separate ways, unfreezing Carl and Sophia, who retold the tale to Eliza and Louis in the woods.

Later that evening Carl went to return the bungee chord back to its original owners, who were sitting or in Daryl's case lying by a healthy campfire.

"…ya don't need a wingman, don't see why ya'd need me?"

" 'cause you of all people need some, baby brother. She obviously likes you She's your type."

"That is?"

"Leggy and blonde."

"That's yer type."

"I don't have type."

"That's right, you're a man whore."

They noticed Carl standing there at the same time. He held out the bungee cord as an explanation as to why he was there.

"Just throw it in the truck," said Daryl.

Carl did as he was told and put the bungee cord back on the lid of the crate in the truck.

"Hey kid, do you have any aspirin?" Merle called to him

Carl nodded and returned with the bottle a few minutes later. Merle took it and held out it out to Daryl.

"Don't need it," Daryl shook his head.

"Yer gonna take some," Merle shook the pill bottle, making a rattling noise.

"No I ain't,"

The brothers stared at each other. Daryl took the aspirin from him and threw it over to Carl.

"I'm gonna need a big stick ta beat him with too," Merle said.

"Then you'll have to get more aspirin," said Carl.

Both of the Dixons laughed.

"Yer funny, why don't grab beer an' a chair. I'm sick a talking to him."

Carl wasn't sure if Merle was serious or not. Despite his feelings towards the pair, he was curious about them now they were behaving calmly and more like people he was used to.

"Merle, he's ten."

"I'm twelve," corrected Carl.

"There by Dixon standards, he's old enough."

"Ya mean backass, backwoods standards."

"Be proud of yer heritage, boy," said Merle, "he probably has a higher tolerance than you, ya pussy. Look it cha, yer already on the ground."

Daryl picked himself off the ground. Carl got ready to beat it out there if they started fighting again. Daryl just grabbed some lighter fluid, which he gave to Merle, and a beer. He popped a hole in bottom of the can and started sucking the beer out from it.

On his brother's signal, Merle squirted the lighter fluid into the fire. The flames grew up to six feet. The heat coming from it made Carl's face itchy but he was to caught up staring into the flames to move back.

Daryl tossed the empty beer can over his shoulder. He walked backwards three steps.

Carl had a feeling on what Daryl was going to do and his feelings were correct. Daryl ran straight at the fire, pulling his knees up to his chest as he leapt clean over the snaking flames to land on the opposite side perfectly and more importantly unscathed. Merle applauded him and Carl joined in. That was pretty cool.

"Whose a pussy now, bitch?" Daryl yelled triumphantly.

Merle made like he was going to punch him but merely put Daryl into a headlock and gave him a nuggy. They were completely unaware that the bright blaze had directed everyone's attention to the Dixons once more. They had been trying to kill each other earlier, but you'd never know now.

"Carl!" His mom called from their camp.

On his way back, Carl passed by Shane walking in the opposite direction over to talk to the rednecks, who could be heard baiting the ex-cop like a pair of yipping jackals.

* * *

><p>"Whatcha do to your arm?" asked Daryl, noticing a small puncture wounds imbedded in a swollen bruise on Carl's arm, "and don't say a werewolf."<p>

"A walker," It clearly hadn't been a walker, but that didn't make it funny at all. Daryl gave him a unamused look that made Carl drop his grin. "It was Sam, when we met up in the lumber yard before you guys found me."

"What happened that day anyhow?"

"The dogs came into the garage and chased us out so we went looking for you. When we saw that you were stuck in the tracks with a groups of geeks nearly on you. I told Sophia to meet up by the flag and I led the walkers away."

"I climbed inside these big pipes, they were new sewer pipes or something, and I tricked them in to thinking I stayed in there when I climbed out the other side."

"No shit," Daryl stated clearly impressed. "Good thinkin'."

Carl could not help but revel in the man's approval. It was a good morning.

"Where's Sam?" asked Carl, seeing that the German shepherd was no longer curled up under the playground where he had slept last night.

They had tried to get the dog to come in the hall, but Sam whole-heartedly refused. He had even snapped at Daryl when he tried leading the dog in by his collar.

"Probably off hunting," answered Daryl.

"Did you take your dog hunting?"

"Yep, I had two labs that were huntin' dogs."

"I wanted a dog, maybe a retriever but any really. My parents kept saying maybe we could get one later, I don't think they meant it though," Carl turned to Daryl. "Did your parents let you have a dog?"

"My ma died when I was really young so she wasn't much of a problem. My dad said no till Merle twisted my his arm into it before he went to juvie for a second time 'cause I didn't take the first time he went to juvie well at all."

A gloomy shade crossed over Daryl's face. Although him and Merle didn't get along very well, it was painfully obvious that Daryl missed his brother a lot. Carl felt bad for him.

"I don't know how Sophia's still sleeping, it's so bright out," he said to get Daryl's mind off his brother.

"She was up few times last night," yawned Daryl.

"Is she alright?"

"Fine, was just upset. Last time she was up, I swear she was cryin' about goldfish. Just so y'know, your girlfriend's a little crazy."

"She's not my girlfriend," Carl got defensive.

"Sure she ain't," Daryl said sarcastically.

"She isn't. We're best friends."

"Best friends with benefits."

"What's supposed to mean?"

"She's your girlfriend."

Carl scowled at him.

"Say she was my girlfriend. Not saying she is but if she was," Carl stopped because Daryl shook his head with a shit-eating grin.

He could tell from the put off look that the kid had been trying to tell him something from that. "I'm teasin' ya. What is it?"

"Never mind."

Carl picked at the flaking blue paint on the wooden steps.

"Ok, You know when you like a girl and you get funny feelings in your heart and uh down there," mumbled Carl clearly uncomfortable.

Boners. They were talking about boners. Daryl was just as uncomfortable with the topic as his young companion but he hid it, coaxing Carl to continue.

"What if you get those feelings when you aren't with a girl, like your reading a book or painting a fence or something and it just happens."

_Is that normal? _Carl's eyes finished.

Daryl put himself in Carl's place, not hard to do since he had gone through that awful random boner phase himself and told the boy what he would've liked to hear instead of being told that it meant he had freakish sexual attraction to pineapples. "It happens to tha best of us, just means you're growing up. An' I hate to be the bearer of bad news but its gonna get worse afore it gets better."

The answer put Carl very noticeably at ease. Something like pride swelled in Daryl at being able to put the boy at ease.

"Guess your missin' yer dad huh?"

This was not a new development in Carl's life. He wanted to talk to his dad or Shane but he could never figure out how to bring it up. "Not really the thing you talk to your parents about."

Daryl thought on it, and figured it probably wasn't, though he wasn't sure how it became the thing that Carl talked to him about.

He also started thinking that he was going to have to sneak the kid a _Playboy _when he got a little older. It was a right of passage.

A walker cut into their odd bonding moment. They jumped off the stairwell, the movement caught the walker's attention and it quickly followed after the pair slowly backing off.

"You take this one," Daryl passed him the crossbow.

Daryl didn't let anyone shoot the crossbow, and Carl had been absolutely itching to try from the first time he saw it. Carl took it and raised the weapon up to the geek.

"Ya want ta get its head right in that in the middle of the cross in the sight," he instructed.

The arrow flew right by the geek's shoulder. They had to take a few more steps back as the walker advanced. Daryl reloaded the crossbow and gave it back to Carl. "Shut yer other eye this time so ya don't get double vision."

With that piece of advice, the second arrow came closer, sticking in to the geek's shoulder but it didn't affect its determined shuffle towards them. The two misses didn't affect Daryl either.

"What if I miss? It's the last one," Carl said when Daryl passed him the loaded crossbow again.

Daryl waggled his knife at the walker. "You won't."

This time Carl waited longer this time before he pulled the trigger. Following the rule third times the charm, the last arrow soared into the walker's head. Daryl gave him a unintentionally hard pat on the back.

The downed walker was the first thing Sophia saw when she opened the door, rubbing her eyes. She screamed and slammed the door.

Daryl dragged the geek up the steps and knocked on the door. "Sophia, it's ok. It's dead dead, girl."

"C'mon Sophia, we got to get movin' " Carl added

Sophia popped her head out the door again, saw the geek again and screeched again.

She calmed down when she took a moment to realize it when it was dead dead. It was a short lived calm when she heard the boy's laughing at her.

"That wasn't funny," she told them off.

"It was little funny," Daryl said.

"Funny when you're a jackass," she glared at both of them.

"It was a just joke. Geez someone woke up on the wrong side of the floor," commented Carl.

"No more like I'm stuck with you two smelly boys."

* * *

><p>They went back to the county road. Not only did Carl not argue with the route. Sophia couldn't help but notice how he was mirroring Daryl's every move as he tried to pick up a game trail so that maybe they would eat today. It went beyond attentive learning how to hunt to the point that Carl was mimicking Daryl's strut that looked a little ridiculous to her but it was pretty cute as well.<p>

"You're dead wrong," stated Daryl.

"You're the one whose wrong," argued Carl. "Captain Jack Sparrow is way bigger badass than Indiana Jones,"

"First Jack wasn't really a Captain 'cause he was always losing his damn boat. An' Indiana Jones was a doctor therefore he was ten times smarter than Jack Sparrow."

"A fake doctor. Captain Jack outsmarted Davy Jones, Indiana Jones could never do that,"

Since Sophia was not contributing to the conversation, as she was still not really talking to either of them, this debate had gone on for the last three miles.

They came to a fork in the road. The one prong curved into a well-treed stretch of road. There nothing on it except a delivery van. Daryl went quiet and walked toward it without a word to them.

The kid's followed timidly behind him. There was a cold nip in the air from the lack of sun due to the trees that made the road seem eerie. When they got closer to the van, they could hear a garbled, dying binging noise due to the driver's door being left open.

The van has a large logo painted on the side. Ferenc Builders.

There's something familiar about it.

Daryl pulled the keys out of the ignition to stop the noise and looked at the set. He walked around to the Two geeks were crumpled underneath it. Daryl put his hand on the hood. It was cool.

Carl kept looking at the van with a very strong case of déjà vu.

It was just like the van his dad arrived in. The van they took back when they went back to look for Merle, Carl realized what it meant. He followed Daryl's lead and looked around the edge of the brush for footprints.

"Can we go?" Sophia whined. She heard something walking in the bushes. "Please. We have to go."

Daryl completely ignored her like he hadn't heard her at all. He was solely focused on finding tracks or any old sign, so she went over to Carl.

There it was again. A noise like something was walking around in the bush. Carl was just as disinterested.

It sounded like it was coming closer or maybe it was only the sound of her heartbeat in her ears.

Carl felt the gun get pulled from the waistband of his jeans. But it was too late to stop her.

_Crack._

The smoking gun quivered in Sophia's hands, Carl grabbed it back from her before Daryl saw her with it. He could take a hit, she couldn't.

The shot snapped Daryl back to right here, right now.

"What the fuck?" Daryl hissed. He took the gun from Carl and by some grace of God managed to keep from hitting him.

They held their breath. It was silent. From between the multitude of branches, they could see something moving around. The forest too thick and shaded to tell which way it was moving.

He pulled the kids, Carl exceptionally hard, over to an opening in a bush. It was camouflaged heavily. A person wouldn't notice them there, a dumb dead bastard sure wouldn't. "Git down an' stay down."

Carl got right down, trying to pull Sophia into the vegetative den.

"Sophia, I mean it," whispered Daryl. She crawled in beside Carl.

Daryl walked silently into the trees. There was more than one figure moving around.

Prairie chickens few up in a whir of wings. His eyes were involuntary drawn up to them for a moment. A shadow passed right beside him.

The last thing Daryl saw was the butt of a rifle. He was out cold too before he felt any pain. He didn't hear the kids scream his name.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: CUT TO BLACK.<p>

No it's not Merle is all I'm going to say and no I'm not trollin' when I say this.

I don't think I could've gotten out bed without you guys as a thank you I skirted my school work to bring you this: writergirl94, ArmedwithMyComputer, Emberka-2012, MarionArnold, JesseGlennFan, 6747, war90, leg64, zombieslayer5, LaciL, Missy92, Rebecca taylor, Bare His Teeth, Ihasabukkit, tarzlady65, kdoggt, rat, VoodooInTheTARDIS, BLUENIGHT23, originalseriesstrekkie, jemlou, tracys dream, Guest, SuperNeos2, JDMlvr1, clennon, Mackadukey, ObeyTheFluff, FakeASmile90, Lucifer's Garden (4X), yvonnecullen, Kitty, WalkerGirl2010, MariaDeNoir, auds1978. 

Maddie was not a reference to Dance Moms. It was a reference to Madison Lintz who played Sophia and also to Maddie Lomax who played Eliza Morales.

I was going to give you a little heads up about that whole coming-of-age chat between Daryl and Carl, but then it wouldn't have been such a surprise.


	22. Your Dad's Nice

yvonnecullen, your poking lit a fire under my lazy bum.

* * *

><p>Spiders. Hospitals. Walkers. Never seeing her mom again. The new number one spot on the list of things Sophia was afraid became what was happening right in front of her. A man in a black leather jacket had come out of nowhere. In one fell blow he cracked Daryl across the skull with a rifle, dropping the hunter like a sack of potatoes.<p>

"Darrrryyll!" they cried in unison.

As it turned out the fawn metaphor Daryl had in mind whenever he hid the kids ended with hiding them as they ran out of the bush despite the danger three feet from them and until their bleating had no knowledge of their existence. "Darrryylll!"

Carl reached him first. Daryl was lying doubled up on his side. The gun grip stuck out the back of his jeans. Even though he was unconscious, their guardian's weapon of choice was still in his arms. Carl grabbed both the gun and the crossbow and got between his companions and the leather-clad assailant, as Daryl would've done.

"Don't move!" Carl pointed the crossbow at the man. He was shaking a little bit due to nerves. The cross in the sight was hovering in the middle of the man's chest.

"Easy kid, why don't cha gimme that before you hurt yourself," said the man.

The man took a step forward and Carl moved back a bit and reactively squeezed the trigger. His movement threw off his aim. The arrow burrowed itself in diagonally in his shoulder. The man howled and dropped his rifle. Carl kicked it away from him, sending it off into the dead leaves on the ground. With the crossbow empty, he dropped it and went to his gun.

"I said don't move!" He clicked the hammer back. Being lighter the gun shook more noticeably in his hands. But with evidence that Carl would shoot impaled in his shoulder, the man did not move again.

Sophia knelt beside Daryl, sticks and rocks poked her knees. The world beyond had evaporated. She tried to recall her minimal first aid training from _girl guides_ but it had all fallen out of her head. She wedged her hand between the ground and his shoulder and gently rolled him on his back. It was a relief to see his chest rise and fall.

"Daryl, wake up," Sophia said huskily. His eyes remained shut and his face stayed slack.

Sophia brushed Daryl's hair back. He wasn't bleeding. That was a good sign right?

His eyes were going to snap open any moment. Then he'd get up and chase off the man with the rifle and then they'd find their families. Any moment now…

"C'mon you gotta get up. We're burning daylight," she joked when she thought she saw his eyelids flicker. Nothing more happened.

_What if all the blood was pooling on the inside of his head? People die from that. _An utterly terrifying thought raised its ugly head in her mind.

What would happen to Carl and her without Daryl to protect them? Who would get them back to the group? What if she needed to go to bathroom and she couldn't get the button on her pants undone?

Sophia took one of Daryl's hands in both of hers. His hand was still warm. She squeezed it. He didn't squeeze back.

"Daryl, please, you gotta wake up," cried Sophia. "I don't know what we'll do without you. We need you. "

Her eyes started to feel stingy, same with her throat and with no one to put a comforting arm around her and tell her it's all gonna be ok, the feeling quickly escalated into sobs. "I'm sorry I fired the gun. It wasn't Carl, it was me."

Sophia had been so grateful when Carl grabbed the gun from her. But now she would much rather have Daryl be mad at her than this. "Puh-lease. Please don't do this. Please don't die."

"Regan. Regan" Someone yelled in the background.

"Yeah," newly titled Regan called over his shoulder.

"We heard a gun shot." Two more men came tramping through the bush.

"Holy shit" one of them exclaimed pointing at the arrow.

Regan nodded to Carl, who took a few steps back all the while keeping the gun on all of them as he sized up the new arrivals. The large, bearded man was carrying a baseball bat. His skinner, olive skinned buddy didn't appear to have a weapon on him but that only meant he probably had a knife or a gun. No one walked around unprotected these days.

"Yeah, he took a shot at me," newly titled Regan nodded to Daryl, "didn't see these two till after."

"Fuck man, you didn't kill him, did you?" asked the smaller one.

"Not a chance," growled Carl.

"Just cold-cocked him," Regan answered his friend's question.

"Y'all better get going before he comes around. You won't stand a chance against him in fair fight," warned Carl.

After the night by the Dixon's fire, Carl paid special attention to the brothers and he saw a bunch more fights. Daryl always lost but he could go toe to toe with Merle.

There was no doubt in Carl's mind that Daryl could take them. It was unlikely that these guys would be as hard as Merle and his quick temper would pay off for once.

The three men talked amongst themselves at a decibel level Carl couldn't really hear. He looked behind him, Daryl was still out with Sophia whimpering by his side. How come he hadn't woken up yet?

_"But its not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of fight in the dog. Remember that."_

Carl remembered what Daryl told him. He could feel a lot of fight rising in him looking at his helpless friends. Plus he had a gun. Movement from the three jarred Carl back to them. Regan left the way the other two had come, holding his shoulder.

"We don't want to hurt any of you. This has all been one big misunderstanding. Our camp is really close by. Why don't we go there?" said the small one approaching Carl slowly.

Carl lowered the gun a little bit. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to trust these people but deep down he wanted an adult to take charge. While he mulled it over, the bearded man sidestepped around him to Daryl and Sophia.

"Hey there sweetheart," he greeted her softly.

Sophia acted as if she hadn't heard him. She curled her fingers around the handle of Daryl's bowie knife.

"Hi, I'm Allen," he crouched down by her. "Is this your dad?"

The question caught her off guard. She managed to squeak out the one syllable word through shuddering breaths. "Yes."

Carl heard her answer. He became lost in the vivid memory of the day his dad went into a coma.

Allen started talking to her again, something about a camp where his family was. She had started humming, which evolved into softly singing. _"Cause I'm as free as bird now. And this bird you cannot change, and this bird cannot change." _

"Nooo! I won't leave him, I'm not leaving him," Sophia shrieked when Allen tried to lift her. She had a fistful of Daryl's orange plaid shirt as well as the knife. She unsheathed it and the razor sharp tip raked across the man's forearm.

Allen backed off, putting pressure on his arm. Blood seeped through his fingers. Sophia's shrieking sent chills straight through him. He was scared too but Carl had to be strong for her.

"It's ok, Sophia. They're going to help us," Carl made the call. If these guys were going to hurt them, they would've done it already.

Carl picked up the crossbow and threw it over his shoulder. He tucked the gun away at the back of his pants and pulled his shirt over it. If they tried anything funny…

He put the backpack on Sophia's shoulders and then led her by the hand behind the two men who had picked up Daryl and strung him between them by his arms.

Their camp was not even a three minutes walk. The tall colonial fort like wooden fence at the back blended in with the thicket, which is probably why they hadn't seen it from the road. Behind the fence was an assortment of trailers with a building at the back, the banner above read SYMON'S VALLEY RANCH HOUSE. People milling around yard stared at them as they walked through.

They made their way through the RVs to a red truck with a trailer sitting in the box. The truck was reassuringly labeled FIRST AID CENTRE. The skinny guy, heaving from Daryl's dead weight pounded on the door.

Regan answered the door. He was shirtless and there was a bandage where the arrow had been. Carl glared at him while he readjusted the crossbow. There were two women inside behind him. One looked a little older then his mom, and the other reminded him of Amy, only with red springy hair.

Regan relieved the small guy and helped Allen move Daryl inside. Carl and Sophia followed. They set Daryl on small bed. Sophia wasted no time squeezing past all the standing bodies in the very cramped space to sit on a sliver of the bed and retake his hand. This time it twitched like he was trying to hold hers back.

"He's her dad," Allen said in a low voice to the two women.

"Jesus Christ, Regan! What's wrong with you?" The redhead snapped.

"Don't use the Lord's name in vain, young lady," scolded the older woman.

The older woman kneeled down on the floor by the bed and pulled back Daryl's eyelid to reveal a blank canvas. His beautiful blues were rolled up near the top. The sight freaked out Sophia to the point she couldn't breath. Carl was at her side in an instant, elbowing Regan not so accidently on the way to give her a shoulder to cry on.

It was hard for them to see Daryl, who was indestructible be so vulnerable.

"Cleo, grab me a flashlight and then why don't you take these two over to the mess, I need some space."

Cleo did as she was told and shepherded them outside after she passed off the small flashlight. Sophia looked back when the door slammed shut behind them, dividing them with a heart wrenching finality.

They entered the ranch house. It goes without saying that neither of them had ever been in a bar. It was mostly looked restaurant, only dirtier and the pool table and the wall of alcohol at the back.

"How 'bout I go around back and get y'all a soda pop," offered Cleo. "What do you like?"

"What is there?" asked Carl

"I'm not quite sure, you can come back with me," Cleo waved them forward.

"I'll stay here." Sophia mumbled, taking a seat at a wobbly table.

She hadn't noticed before but she was still holding Daryl's knife. She drilled into so that it was sticking straight up. She stared at her reflection in the silver before she put her head down. If only she hadn't gotten scared, Daryl would never have gotten hurt or even worse.

Carl and Cleo walked through a swinging door into a kitchen. He couldn't help but think about how much his mom would love the long island in the middle for preparing food and cooling baking goodies. What Carl liked was the cut out in the wall that opened up to the bar and he could see Sophia.

"Hello Maple Ann," Cleo greeted a woman with a sharp, bird like face. "This is my new friend – oh gosh I didn't get your name,"

"Carl."

Cleo showed him into walk-in freezer, which was no longer running but still had the shelves full of cans. As far as non-alcoholic beverages went there was only coca-cola. Carl grabbed two cans.

"Do you two have any allergies? " asked Cleo.

"_Peanuts" _Carl heard himself say, and saw Daryl almost choke on a granola bar. Good times.

"Hey Maple, where are the spam and lettuce sandwiches left over from lunch?" asked Cleo.

"That's lunch tomorrow," Maple said.

Cleo lifted the foil on a platter tucked away on a counter with a surprise expression. "And look at that there's some to spare for our guests."

Cleo handed him a wedge sandwich. Carl couldn't help but eat it all in the three bites. He almost choked on it.

"Does your sister like spam as much as you?" laughed Cleo. She put some sandwiches on a square, white plate.

"Sophia's not my sister." That would be messed up given one of his last conversations with Daryl about how she was/was not his girlfriend. "And Daryl isn't her dad either. Her dad died awhile ago."

Carl looked out the opening to Sophia sitting with her head nested in her arms on the table. _Would she say yes if Cleo asked her if I was her brother?_

Maybe Daryl was right. Maybe Sophia was crazy.

"Awe poor thing. If you don't mind me asking, where are your families?"

Carl recapped the night they got separated and where they had been from there. He continued talking when they went out to the front. Cleo attentively listened to the story about their time in the quarry, how his dad came out of his coma and found them, how Daryl lost his brother and the walker attack after the fish fry. He ended up going full circle with how they ended up getting split up.

"Well that is quite the tale," Cleo said at the end. "Ours is pretty boring. Me and my mom left our hometown with some other families from of our church and we met up with others traveling who all heard the radio broadcast on The Fish saying to go to Salt Lake City, but as you know being on the road is hard so we settled in here for a bit because of the fence and the room for our trailers. It's wasn't a popular decision due to this bar but we've worked it in. We've even made a chapel."

Cleo waved over secluded corner back downstairs in the bar area with unplugged gambling machines, turned to face the wall to make sure to room for the alter. A humble table with only a cross, the book of the lord and some tea light candles.

"Can we go pray?" asked Sophia, breaking her stunned silence.

"Of course you can," said Cleo.

In the place of pews were chairs lined up perfectly. Sophia and Carl sat down at the front of the makeshift chapel. Cleo lit one of the candles for them and then left them.

"Say something," Sophia whispered.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Carl opened with the Lord's prayer to give him some time to think of what else to say. There was only one thing to say, "dear lord, we ask you to watch over Daryl…"

* * *

><p>He could smell something flowery. If that wasn't odd enough there were people with unfamiliar voices talking around him.<p>

"We could always say something to Dan." A man's voice.

"Oh he won't do nothing. You know what he'll say no sheep turned away," that was a women's voice.

"We could get Donna to say something to Regan, send him and his boys running for the hills," chuckled the man.

"In all honesty, I can't see why they're here. Regan and his buddies don't need us and they'll have no place in Salt Lake City," said the woman. "Oh he's coming to."

Coming to hurt. Daryl's head was throbbing and that was without thinking about what the hell happened. He was knocked out in the trees. Where the hell was he? On a small, firm bed in some sort of extremely tiny medical place, an ambulance maybe. There was a man leaning in the far corner and the women he heard was sitting right next to him, holding a purple candle close to him. That was what he had smelled.

One very important question remained; Where the hell were Carl and Sophia?

"Relax, your kids are fine," the woman said.

"Ain't mine," Daryl breathed, "they were in my group an' got separated from their parents."

"A lot of that going around."

"I had my daughter take them outside. Your girl was so upset, would've given her a sedative if we had any."

Muscle tightened involuntary in his jaw. "Sophia's a bit sensitive."

"Could've fooled me." The man in the corner chuckled, he held out his arm showing off a bloody bandage was wrapped around his forearm. "Sensitive did this to my arm."

Warning flags rose. Daryl had experienced first hand what Sophia was like when she was scared of you and never once did she get violent with him. She was a runner, far from being a fighter. Whatever pushed her to do that would have to be bad.

"Sophia's pa was a bit rough with her, so ya can't blame her for being skittish."

The man and the woman exchanged quick glances.

"That boy held all three of us at gunpoint, put this in Regan's shoulder," explained the man, throwing him one of his arrows from off the counter.

"That'd be Carl, yer buddy's lucky it didn't go through his fuckin' skull. He knows how to shoot."

_And thank God, we had that little lesson this morning. _Daryl added silently looking at the arrow smeared with blood in the middle.

"I'm Sara, I was a paramedic before all this and this is Allen." Sara introduced them.

"Daryl," he shook her hand and Allen's.

The pair looked harmless and was quite nice considering how ornery Daryl was being. It was not so much that his head hurt but that these strangers had removed the kids from his sight, until that changed, he couldn't see himself lightening up or relaxing.

"Where are they again?" Daryl went to get up.

"You can stay, they won't be gone long," Sara said.

"Be better for them to see me up on my feet."

"I must insist that you stay off them for a little while longer, you took quite the blow but " Sara gently pushed him back down. "They're fine."

Sara went to stitching up Allen's arm. The smell of the rubbing alcohol got thick and stung the inside of his nostrils as soon as she opened the bottle in the cramped space.

"The one who knocked you out was Regan. You three put this camp on high alert with that gun shot."

Learning their side of this incident. Daryl could not blame whoever this Regan was for taking him out. He would've done the exact same thing.

After obnoxiously blinding him with a flashlight, Sara deemed him fit to be discharged. Daryl made his way over to the Ranch House straight across from the band-aid truck where Sara said they would be.

_Won't their parents be glad that they got to go to a bar? _Daryl thought looking over the sketchy place.

At least this small failure at guardianship was not his fault.

All the tables inside were empty save for the one with his knife was stuck into it. Daryl could not believe that he hadn't noticed its absence on his belt. Come to think he didn't remember seeing the crossbow in the trailer.

Before he started hollering their names, he spotted the back of their heads. The two of them were sitting in front of a small cross. The crossbow was draped over Carl's shoulder.

_Damn urchins, _He should've known that they would roll him.

Silently he walked into the row of chairs right behind them. He was about to flick their ears when he heard Carl say his name.

"…Watch over Daryl. He may curse a bunch and gets a little cranky sometimes."

"He's been a lot better at being patient." Sophia added, "and he's really tries too even though it it's hard for him."

Daryl thought about tapping them on the shoulder instead. He was stopped again.

"But besides that he's really good guy. He's been looking after us, making sure we're fed before he eats, running into all kinds of danger to make sure we don't get hurt like he's Superman."

"He is a hero."

Daryl was touched right down to his core, seriously felt something in the middle of his stomach. No one had ever said that about him. He had never warranted it. He had no clue they thought that highly about him. Daryl stood behind them, they were as silent as he was. They didn't pray for their families, they only prayed for him.

Could he really matter that much to them?

All this was getting too weird for him so he finally cut in.

"Dear Buddha, please bring me a pony, and a plastic rocket"

They recognized Daryl's voice instantly. Their heads snapped around almost fast enough to cause whiplash. Carl raced toward the end of the row, the crossbow still on his shoulder pounded against his back but he was too excited to be bothered by the pain of it. Sophia, the dainty moose, just pushed the chairs out of the way and started hugging the daylights out of him. Honestly Daryl thought she might break some ribs.

"I'm ssooo ha-ha-ppy you're ok," Sophia bawled into his shirt. It took a moment or so for him to hug her back.

"So happy that you're cryin'?" asked Daryl confused. He stroked the back of her head.

"You know I'm a girl right?" Sophia explained, wiping her eyes.

"Ya've been made very aware of that," Daryl smiled.

Carl stood back, beaming. When Sophia let go, he handed back the crossbow. Daryl set it down on the floor beside them.

"What we ain't going to do the bro hug?" asked Daryl.

Carl tilted his head.

"You don't know the bro hug? What are yer dad and Shane teaching you?" Daryl shook his head and knelt down to come close to Carl's height. "Ok, I'm going to teach you somethin' every guy has to know,"

"Start off like this," He grabbed Carl's left hand with his right and locked them together. "Then all you do throw your other arm around his neck and move in. You gotta come half way."

Daryl tugged Carl closer until their shoulders were touching, "now if you are doin' this with some guy you don't particularly like and you may end up fighting him at a bar later. That is a good time to show him what place he's coming in by basically ramming into him."

Following orders, Carl pushed against him.

"We gonna scrap on our hands?"

Carl shrugged and gave him the same wicked smile from the playground. Daryl went with his usual move of ruffling of the kid's hair.

Sophia threw her arms around Daryl's neck and went in for another hug. One had not been enough.

"Ok, wow, gettin' lots a hugs today."

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

One hundred hugs would not be enough for you guys: ArmedWithMyComputer, Lucifer's Garden, VoodooInTheTardis, leg64 (2x), MarionArnold, Dixxxon, 6747, Emeberka-2012, GhostWritter84, war90, Missy92, Surplus Imagination, jemlou, zombieslayer5, dataworf, JesseGlennFan, originalseriestrekkie, JDMlver1, SuperNeos2, Rat, sammyjase, Guest, The Phan Ghost, yvonnecullen (3x), Christina, KookieMeow, Ihasbukkit (2x), Bares His Teeth, shygirl04, ObsidianBttrfly, TheNightKitsune, ObeyTheFluff, Kountry101, BlackShadow65 and … - the count on the bottom of the review page on this and another story of mine have say there is one more than there really is. If one got dropped I thank whoever that may be.

Leg64 pointed out to me that the actress who plays Jamie in the "Torn Apart" (Bicycle Girl) webisodes was also named Maddie.

Scavenger References – some throws to the comic and a Firefly quote.


	23. You've Earned Your Place

Congrats to all who have excellent taste in TV and have superb memories: _leg64, BeingLolaStar, Surplus Imagination, irisihartemis, The Cocky Undead, mcayla, Lucifier's Garden. _The line "Dear Buddha, please bring me…" was from the movie Serenity but Firefly was also a perfectly acceptable answer.

A congrats to _SuperNeos2, Macadukey, jemlou _for having extensive knowledge of TWD 'verse. Donna and Allen are a reference to the comics and now the TV show.

Also _SuperNeos2, _got that Regan was a allusion to Negan (what kind of name is that), think about what he did to Daryl vs. what he did to someone quite close to Sophia in the comics. (Don't look it up if you don't like spoilers and haven't read the comics. I was going to reread the comics again but I got halfway into the first volume and had to put it down because I got too sad.)

Lastly if you just started reading this story today and got here and you have schoolwork to do. Put it down. It'll be here later.

* * *

><p>The cracking of sticks hitting against each other carried through the air putting a spotlight on the camps latest arrivals; a man and a pair of children having a swordfight with some sticks at the edge of the camp.<p>

"Who are the spitfires?" Donna asked, she turned around to yell at one of her twins for being inspired by their play and hit his twin brother with a stick.

"The man's name is Daryl, the boy is Carl and the girl's Sophia. Their story is absolutely incredible," explained Cleo to a small crowd of her fellow campers; her mom, Maple Ann, Donna, and Pastor Dan. Never one to mince words, Cleo retold the story Carl had shared with her, down to every single detail she could remember starting all the way on the road to Atlanta.

She eventually reached how they got to be in their midst, acting like feral children. Carl was disarmed, and was trying to get his stick back without being poked by Daryl. Sophia jumped up on Daryl's back.

"Just gives you hope, doesn't it?" Cleo said. "For the past week, all they've had is the clothes on their back and each other."

* * *

><p>Daryl was feeling about seventy-five percent back to normal and missing twenty-five percent was a more critical number than it sounded, especially when he was being ganged up on by two feisty children. He fell over, tipped by Sophia's very sudden weight on his back and the unevenness of the ground. Instead of getting back up, Daryl stayed lying on the ground, sort of crumpled over like he had been when Regan knocked him out. The kids poked him but he merely swatted at them as if they were gnats.<p>

"Up, up, up." They continued prodding him. "C'mon get up." "You're bein' no fun."

Daryl moaned with a smile and shook his head. They gave up, and sat along side him, Sophia whispered something in Carl's ear.

"What'd she say to you?" asked Daryl when Carl giggled and nodded exchanging a unnerving conspiring look with her.

"That you're a old fart," Carl said. For the record that's not what she said to him but Sophia did not want to think of another lie.

"Y'know everyone thinks yer this innocent, little creature Sophia, but you ain't." said Daryl. " 'Member that Carl, the more sweet a girl seems, the more twisted she actually is. You're really gonna have ta watch this one when she gets older 'cause they only get worse."

"Y'know everyone thinks you can be a sexist hick and they have a point," said an offended Sophia.

"Whoa ho ho an' the fangs come out," Daryl said, "When did ya become such scrapper, young lady?"

Sophia shrugged. It was sadly far from the being the most prejudice thing she had heard towards her sex in her short life. Daryl was better than her father and his friends though, so he shouldn't be acting like them.

They lazed in the grass. It was odd to be sitting still and not having to worry about where their next meal would come from or what could be five steps ahead from them.

"What do you think happened to Sam?" asked Carl.

In the chaos of the last couple of hours, they hadn't had time to think about the missing dog. Now they were relatively safe, it was all Carl could think about.

"I'm sure he's alright, not like he's going wander out into the road and get hit by a car," said Sophia.

"Yeah I guess, and he's pretty safe when it comes to walkers. I wanna know why he ran off though," said Carl.

"There's a voice that keeps on calling him, down the road is where he'll always be. Every stop he makes, he makes a new friend. Can't stay for long, just turn around and he's gone again," Daryl said in a definite lilt.

The kids exchanged puzzled glances and then looked at him like maybe Daryl had a stroke.

"It's the theme song from the Littlest Hobo," explained Daryl, the age gap between them shone brightly. "It was a old TV show about a German shepherd mix who traveled around helping people in trouble."

"He did help us travel on the road safely," agreed Carl.

"We would've never found the playground if it weren't for him," Daryl pointed out. "Which helped us all kiss an' make up."

"Maybe the show was in the middle of getting remade and Sam was the star and he really thinks that he is the littlest hobo," theorized Sophia.

"Yeah like Bolt," said Carl. "Bolt is a movie about a dog that works on a TV show and he thinks its real and one day he gets lost and he runs around thinkin' he's got super powers."

They advanced to lying on their backs, staring up at the blue sky and they talked about their favorite TV shows and movies some more until either it started hurting to think about the world before or that they had said all they could think of. Clouds drifted by, sometimes getting pulled apart, little wispy threads around the edges trying to sew themselves back together.

"Carl, did you have yer appendix taken out?" asked Daryl.

"Yeah" said Carl, he looked over at Daryl, confused as to where the topic of his organs came from. "Why?"

"Just curious, I noticed your scar before but forgot to ask."

"I think it was about three years ago, during the Christmas break so I didn't even get to miss school for it," pouted Carl.

"I had mine hacked out too," Daryl pulled up his shirt to reveal a crooked pink scar on his abdomen. "Waited too long and damn thing exploded in the waiting room. Actually Merle had to lie to me to get me to the hospital. Bastard told me we were goin' to Wendy's."

"How long ago was that?"

"Six months," Daryl answered sheepishly.

"I had my appendix taken out too," said Sophia, showing off her own matching scar, though hers was fainter and didn't look like her surgeon had been called in from the bar.

"No way. What are the chances of that?" exclaimed Carl. He rolled over on to his stomach and gave the other two a high five on account on their lack of appendixes.

"We could start a club, get some jackets," joked Daryl.

In the next silence, his mind went to the place he was trying to keep it out of; the cube van. How far was it from here? Had he seen any of the faintest signs of a human trail leading away? Had it been his brother? He was aware that there was more than one Ferenc company cube van in the area but there was always that chance…

While the lights were off, Sophia looked over to Carl and gave a very small nod. The signal was for Carl to pounce on Daryl's legs. Sophia started lightly scratching at his ribs. It was a shot in the dark that hit its mark. Daryl was ticklish.

"stop – I – swear-I'll-I'mma-gonna kill-you," Daryl said between laughs that it made it hard to take him seriously.

He tried to curl up to protect his vulnerable stomach like a porcupine. Without quills, they countered his defense with persistent and very aggressive offense. When he got Carl off of his legs he had two pairs of hands unmercifully torturing him so the fetal position he curled up in did not help. Plus his body had become hypersensitive from the _assault _that any part of him was now ticklish.

"You win. I give. Puh-lease stahp," he begged.

Surprisingly, they did. However it did not make up for the unprovoked attack. Once Daryl got his breath back, a predatory glint sparked in his eyes. Carl caught it and got out of outreach, Sophia was slower on the uptake and Daryl grabbed her much like he did back in IKEA all those nights ago except he didn't have to cover her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

"I got yer pretty little girlfriend now."

"Aw thanks, buddy," Sophia said, throwing the whole dastardly movie villain dialogue off. She was thankful that he was behind her and couldn't see how her cheeks glowed at the compliment.

Even though she was not his girlfriend, Carl was still obliged to rescue the fair maiden. Daryl's arms might as well have been boa constrictors tightened around her. Carl got his fingers in between Daryl's arm and Sophia's stomach. She tried her hardest not to laugh but a few giggles escaped her. It turned out Daryl wasn't the only one who was ticklish. The boys went at her ruthlessly. In Daryl's hold, her arms were pinned to her sides and she could do nothing to protect herself. She felt like she was going die. Her head snapped back and hit against something that felt like Daryl's face. He let her go so suddenly that she fell over.

"Ow, ya got me right in tha snoz," Daryl's voice was muffled under his hand, pinching his nose. He pulled his hand away, looked at it and repeated the motion.

"Is it bleedin'?" Daryl tilted his head back.

"Maybe a little. But your main worry should be some of the ol' geezer nose hair coming in," said Carl, Daryl scowled, wiping a small smear of blood on to the back of his hand.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean too," apologized Sophia. If people could be green with envy, then they could be gray with guilt because she sure looked off colored.

When he was told about their actions after he'd been knocked out, Daryl had a hard time picturing it, especially when it came to Sophia who he had an all too vivid picture of cowering as she waited for his belt to come off.

"Nothing to be sorry for. I had it comin'," said Daryl, twitching his nose like he was trying to rearrange it on his face. "When that guy told me you cut his arm and that Carl shot that other guy, I was so fuckin' proud."

Warm fuzzies blossomed in their chests. There was something indescribably special about your hero telling you that he was proud of you.

"That is exactly what you do. Ya never worry about fighting fair." He started punctuating his sentences with jabs at the ground. "You got a weapon you damn well use it. If you don't got anythin' on ya, you go for the eyes, or try tearing out their throat." Daryl gestured at his own eyes and throat while looking between the two. "And no matter how dirty it is. You kick 'em as hard as you can in the balls."

It was one of the hardest things for Daryl to stomach. That no matter how hard he worked to protect them, he could still fail, that his effort might be worth shit. What if next time they didn't get so lucky?

His eyes went as hard as steel. "Promise me you'll do that."

"Promise," said Carl determinedly. Sophia nodded and mouthed a _yes_.

* * *

><p>"What does that part do?" asked Sophia for the thirty-seventh time.<p>

"That engages the hover drive so you can fly to the moon," said Daryl sarcastically, twisting the socket wrench around with faint _ticking. _

They went on their own little tour of the camp and had stumbled on some guys going over a reconnaissance haul on the dirt road right outside the turnoff to the ranch house. Mostly odds and ends, like jerry cans. The biggest thing was an old dirt bike that didn't run despite having all the parts intact. Daryl had a theory on how to fix it, then he had another theory, then he had another theory, then Sophia got super bored, then he had another theory.

"How fast could this thing go?" asked Carl, who had been an avid listener of all theories from dead battery to clogged fuel lines and how these things stopped it from running.

"Scary fast. The XR I owned was about five years older an' not in such good condition and I topped it out at about eighty once," said Daryl continuing to dissect the machines guts, passing the socket wrench off Carl so his oil stained fingers could reach in further to grab a clear tube.

Daryl may not be the best at fixing things, but he liked it. It gave him an odd sense of peace. It was just cause and effect; one part moved another part, if one part was broken, all you had to do was mend it to get it going again.

A cricket started chirping in the ditch. Daryl's helper and hinderer both went to investigate. Carl's eyes snapped to wherever he thought a chirp. He disturbed the grass with the toe of his shoe, watching like a hawk for a bug to hop out its hiding place.

"A cricket lived in my basement once, and it got super big, like as long as your finger, because it ate all the crumbs from snacks out of the carpet, and my dad went to pick it up with a tissue and he accidently snapped it in half and it didn't die," Carl recounted to Sophia's absolute horror.

But not even that story could ruin the atmosphere. The sun was throwing a deep golden light that gave off a picturesque quality to this non descript rural scenery. More crickets had started singing around them as they walked down the ditch. Sophia grabbed Carl's hand. His skin was sort of cold at first, then got warmer and kind of sweaty.

"Why did you say Daryl was dad?" asked Carl quietly.

Sophia looked over her shoulder to Daryl, who was trying to kick-start the dirt bike. The motor weakly turned over once this time.

"I don't really know. I guess it's 'cause lately it's felt like I've lost everything in the world that I cared about and I wanted to pretend that things were different so that I would feel better. Sorta stupid huh?"

"Nah, I get it."

Carl got the pretending part but couldn't help feel that there was something more to it. Sophia still had a bruise on her arm from whatever had gone down in the middle of the night at the Holiday Inn between her and Daryl. He remembered watching them the morning after and how Sophia shied away from Daryl. He didn't understand what could've got her from that to the fond way she looked at their guardian now but he knew it would have to be powerful.

"Hey," Cleo called to them from across the yard. "Dinner is being served right now in the ranch house."

They walked back into the camp and into the bar where all the families had gathered. Daryl took a quick, needless tally; just families or older folks. There were three, maybe four rifles around, but nothing resembling threats. From what he could see and what he could remember of him, He didn't see Regan. Carl took note of his absence as well as his unnamed friend as well. They grabbed a free table on the left side of the room. The bird-looking woman from before came over with three trays that she set down in front of them.

They were stunned. The snack they had earlier took the sharp edge off their hunger and the knock to the head screwed up Daryl's wiring so he had forgotten that he was hungry. That changed dramatically.

On each tray was a plate containing a three-course M.R.E meal; a hunk of beef with oddly perfect grill lines, a pile of pale yellow and green corkscrew noodles and some garden vegetables. They immediately picked up their utensils and started shoveling food into their mouths.

The woman scorned their table manners with a glare and cleared her throat noisily, "what can I get you to drink?"

"A coke," ordered Carl.

"Same, please," concurred Sophia.

"Can they have pop?"

Either force of habit made Daryl think that the question was not directed at him or his mouth was too full to hear it. Carl kicked him under the table and nodded over to their server.

"Are they allowed to have soda with dinner?" She rephrased the question.

"Yeah," Daryl said clearly confused.

"And for yourself?" the woman asked.

"Water would be good,"

The woman gave him a raised eyebrow like she doubted that was what he wanted but she left without questioning it out loud.

"Good evening, everybody." A man's voice yelled over the crowd, silencing everyone. "Before we say grace-"

They all dropped their forks in a collective clatter and looked around at each other with _ooopps _written all over their face.

"I would like to welcome our newcomers, Daryl, Carl, and Sophia."

The three of them were put in a spotlight as everyone turned and looked at them. In turn they looked around at all the people looking at them. Daryl figured out why their waitress was so surprised when he just wanted water. In this easy crowd of churchgoers, he was, without any contest, the meanest looking person there. Sleeveless T, and thirteen-inch knife glued to his hip, he didn't need to even open his mouth for anyone to know where he came from.

His head bowed a little before everyone else did to say grace. It was similar to the one Carl had recited, may be a few words difference, then the man went into more specifics after the prayer. Daryl stopped listening after "dear lord…"

"…_he's really good guy. He's been looking after us, making sure we're fed before he eats, running into all kinds of danger to make sure we don't get hurt like he's Superman." _

"_He is a hero."_

The man droned on and on, basically giving a sermon on the importance of trusting each other in times like these. Meanwhile their stomach grumbled up in their ear to sneak some food into their mouths.

"Amen," he concluded.

Everyone repeated it in a murmur and went back to their meal. Everyone except Daryl who still had his hands clasped and was looking down at the table. Carl moved to whack him to get his attention.

"Hey, watch his head," Sophia blocked him.

"Oh, right."

Daryl looked up to see them smiling at him like they had earlier. He returned their smiles with his own and went back to his dinner. These two thought the world of him, to hell with anyone else.

The meat was a dry and relatively tasteless. Carl grabbed a little bottle of ketchup. When he turned it upside the red contents rushed towards lid quickly. It wasn't ketchup. It was hot sauce.

"I dare someone to drink that," said Daryl.

"I will if you will," challenged Carl.

Daryl excused himself from the table and walked across impromptu family restaurant to behind the prevailing bar, looking for something. Taking advantage of his absence, Carl picked up a noodle with his mouth and offered it to Sophia. She took it from him with her own mouth. like _Lady and the Tramp_.

"I saw that!" Daryl barked from across the bar, unintentionally hushing everyone else.

Carl and Sophia felt like crawling under the table. So did Daryl when he walked back with everyone still looking at them.

"Let's see if you can put your money where your mouth is," Daryl put the shot glasses down on the table.

Carl's bold gaze did not falter. He could do this no problem. He'd drink it really fast and then drink the rest of his coke.

"You guys are dumb. So dumb," commented Sophia, watching Daryl pour the hot sauce into two shot glasses.

"Comes with the parts," explained Daryl.

"What?"

"Being dumb comes with having guy parts."

"Guy parts like?"

"Testicles," clarified Daryl, he went red when their twitters made him realize that he had walked straight into a trap.

He didn't fill the two glasses to the top, only about three quarters full. He gave one to Carl, who

"Cheers,"

Daryl hesitated as he brought the glass up to his lips. He expected the kid to chicken out at the last second. Carl tossed it back like a champ. He did the same.

It burned their mouth, it burned theirs throats all the way down. Some of the heat dissipated when it reached their stomachs but their faces were completely flushed, eyes tearing up from the trauma. It was easily the worst thing Carl had ever tasted, he had severely underestimated how hot is would be. Daryl remembered an old vow never to do something like this again, and renewed it. Never ever again would he drink hot sauce.

"Dumb as dirt," Sophia stated sadly over their gasping and guzzling of the rest of their drinks.

The man who had led the very long grace came over to their table with a pitcher of water. The boys thanked him after quickly drinking two cups of water. The other people who had been watching their antics began to applaud, which brought on a whole new heat behind their ears.

* * *

><p>If the outside of a thirty-foot RV was impressive, it was nothing compared to the inside. There was a whole house in that space.<p>

The speaker, Pastor Dan, offered them the use of a shower. A meal was a necessity but bathing would be a nice perk and they accepted the offer.

Being the gentlemen they were, Carl and Daryl let Sophia go first. That and they didn't care nearly as much as she did. They sat on the floor in the hallway, which was complete with carpet and a painting of a river on the wall. (Not only was this RV as big as Daryl's last house, it was better decorated)

Carl twitched his hands over top of Daryl's, who smirked at his jerky demeanor. He flipped his hands up and hit the top of Carl's hands. He was a lot better at this game when he wasn't retelling old tales.

Daryl put his finger up to his lips and leaned into the bathroom door, Carl did the same.

"_I guess there are times when all of us re-learn that life is a book and the pages you know they're about to turn. And I don't know where the story ends, where it's gonna go now. Just as long as this chapter tell the whole world how."_

Sophia sang happily in the shower.

"_We went together like highways and T-birds. Saturday sinners and Sunday church. __Lookin' back and cryin' and laughin' 'bout the life between us two. We went together like memories and long gones. Cowboys and sad old songs. After all the holdin' on tight that we went through. You're damn right…"_

She started humming the rest before going into the country classic _Jolene_. They continued to amuse themselves playing red hands. The shower stopped its rhythm but Sophia stayed in the bathroom.

"She's taking a long time."

"Girls take a long time in the bathroom," said Carl, hitting Daryl's hands.

Being to get concerned, Daryl got up and rapped on the door. "Hey Miss Parton, are you doing ok in there?"

"Yep, yeah I'm fine," she stammered in a way that clearly said _No I'm not. _

"Really? 'Cause you don't sound fine," _Please, oh please don't let this be a girl problem, _Daryl prayed. "Ya decent?"

"I'm fine,"

He tried to open the door but she had locked it.

"Sophia. Ya open this door or I'm gonna kick it in,"

The door stayed closed.

"Don't think for a second that I won't break down this door. Miss."

Daryl gave her ten seconds to answer. She stayed silent. "Three, two-"

"You have to promise not to laugh," Sophia blurted out.

"What? Why would I laugh?"

"Promise."

"Alright. I promise."

Sophia opened the door. There was a huge blonde rat's nest on her head with a comb sticking out of it. Daryl covered his mouth when he began to laugh but the damage was done. Sophia slammed the door.

"You promised," she cried indignantly on the other side.

"I'm sorry, I won't laugh anymore," said Daryl. "Why don't you come on out so Carl can shower and I'll help you get that comb out."

"Don't ya dare laugh at her," he added to Carl quietly.

Carl didn't know what he was talking about, then

The comb came out with fifteen odd strands of her hair. Daryl used that comb to brush out the remaining super knot. Sophia used to think her mom was horrible at brushing hair. That was before Daryl Dixon. Every rough tug made her flinch and either get pulled back towards Daryl or pull herself away.

"Hold still," he instructed through his teeth.

Carl was barely able to keep his laughter in. He didn't go to the shower, enjoying the show of Daryl trying to untangle the mess from Sophia's hair to much to miss a minute of it.

"Carl, ain't there somewhere ya need to be," Daryl started to get annoyed at his presence.

"No,"

"Go," Daryl pointed to the bathroom.

There was no arguing with the dead serious look in Daryl's eyes and Carl went to the shower.

"I was trying to French braid my hair like my mom does, so that it would be curly later," explained Sophia.

Daryl looked at the sad girl in front of him. There was something he could do for her. He took his seat behind her.

"This never leaves this trailer. Look straight ahead." Naturally Sophia looked around at him, Daryl manually turned her head forward, he pulled a section of hair on the right side of her head and divided it in to three strands, "my first job was working for this riding stable down the road from us, I got roped into helping out with the shows a few times. You spend thirty plus hours braiding manes yer hands do not forget. "

Since Sophia's hair was pretty short, it didn't take long to do. The shower was still going when he was securing the two braids with two bobby pins she had in her pocket.

"Hope this makes up fer me threatening to belt ya," said Daryl quietly, twisting his fingers nervously.

Sophia hugged him round the neck. Daryl rested his head on her soapy smelling, braided head. He was getting use to this.

"And this does," she whispered.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

Thought I would post to fill the void we're all feeling when it comes to TWD and Angelwiththeblackestwings made me aware that it had been over a month (a day over) since my last.

Your reviews kept me from jumping off the roof this past month: Ihasabukkit, leg64, jemlou, MarionArnold, LeanneDasayLover, Emberka-2012, Being LolaStar, zombieslayer5, tracys dream, Surplus Imagination, 6747, war90, Missy92, ChesireCatGrin3421, Octaivia, Rebecca taylor, irishartemis, WTFdoUwantNOW, The Cocky Undead, TheNightKitsune, Angelwiththeblackestwings, kdoggt, JesseGlennFan, ObeyTheFluff, JDMlvr1, the-bond-of-brothers, cheezy3, mcayla, Kountry101, Leelo Forever, SuperNeos2, Guest, shygirl04, VoodooInTheTARDIS, **#500** from Ihasabukkit, Christina, Killerbee77, rat, Bares His Teeth, Macadukey (2x), Working Guest, Guest, Lucifer's Garden, FortitudoPhoenixo, Lord-Cas, clennon, bspooky3, LoneAngel666, peteythepirate, GemmaTellerSoa, Kaleiburzz (2x)

Carl's cricket story, another anecdote from my life, an memory that haunts my nightmares so naturally I shared it.

The Littlest Hobo is a real show. It's on YouTube, quality is a little poor but it's there.

2/5 courses now guys. I'm almost there.


	24. That Sound You Hear

A bonfire was being started, a streak of smoke rising up into the darkening blue sky. Rather than rejoin the families of the ranch house, they slipped out beyond the fence and wandered into the woods. Daryl wanted to get a good look at the perimeter before they turned in for the night. He felt even more generous calling this group 'survivors' than did he with their group and there was at least one gun to a family.

In a small snapping of twigs, he could hear Carl and Sophia walking along behind him, keeping their conversation to a whisper probably so he wouldn't regret bringing them along since he had wanted to leave them behind the safety of the fence. Damn puppy eyes had gotten the better of him.

They grew a little bolder and skipped ahead of him through the sunbeams filtering through the trees, holding hands. Daryl had a hard time believing that they would be able to keep whatever that was under wraps. They were going to slip up and their parents would embarrass the ever-loving hell out of them. Poor things.

Unfortunately this time gave him a perfect opportunity to talk to them about where they were going to go from here. Daryl had a good idea on what he wanted to do. He knew Carl wouldn't like it, neither would Sophia but she probably wouldn't fight him like the boy would (as long as she was allowed her privacy in the bathroom, they got along just fine). Therefore Daryl had to thoroughly think of how he was going to pitch his plan so they wouldn't end yelling at each other again.

A very faded paw print of a small dog in the dirt caught Carl's eye, identical prints leading away from it got his whole attention span. He knelt down on the ground to survey the tracks better. Daryl came up behind him and looked over his shoulder.

"A fox?" asked Carl. Daryl nodded and kept his eyes peeled to the ground

There was something alluring to Carl about hunting. He didn't know why. Maybe it was a guy thing.

They followed Daryl following the fox's tracks until they came to a scratched out hole with tuffs of grey hair around the entrance. Sophia backed away, afraid that the fox would come out of its den and Daryl would kill it. His hunter status back at the quarry had been another strike against him when she first met him. She had no problem eating meat, hot dogs were her favorite food but seeing the furry faces of her food disturbed her.

"Sophia, c'mere" Carl called her back quietly.

She went back over with the boys who were both on their stomachs outside the den. Carl pointed into the blackness of the hole with a big smile. Tiny little yips and whines could be heard coming from inside the den.

They were so entranced by the noise that the smallest rustling of the bushes scared the crap out of them. The owner of the den, a red fox with a mouthful of woodchuck stared at the home invaders with tawny eyes before it darted off back into the trees.

"She'll come back, right?" said Carl alarmed. He thought of how birds would leave their babies if you touched them.

"I didn't get a good look but I'm pretty sure that was dad. Mom's probably down with the pups," Daryl said, "Might be watchin' us right now, hoping we'll go after him and leave his family alone."

All of them couldn't help but think about how familiar that sounded.

The trees stopped being trees to Daryl's eyes and started being hunting blinds. He lifted the kid's up to a sturdy branch and then hauled himself up. They carefully climbed up another two branches and watched the den.

The male fox eventually returned with his kill and went into the den. Much to Sophia's relief, the crossbow, while loaded, stayed secured across Daryl's back and he made no move for it either. They waited silently. The sunbeams came in stronger and stronger in a deep golden light giving the forest a serene quality.

Three fox kits climbed out of the den. Their faces were starting to change from the grey fur on their bodies to red fur of their parents. They ventured a short distance from their home, tottering on unsteady legs. One pup bit and pawed at one of his siblings, who tried to bite back with a twist of its head and ended up biting its own shoulder. It yipped and ran off after the third who was exploring the forest behind the den.

Carl leaned a tiny bit forward on the branch. Daryl tugged the collar of his shirt to get him to sit back.

The pups, who had been batting something around on the ground, must a heard something from that moment as they stopped their play and looked around, one lay right down on the ground.

Shaking dirt off her rusty coat, Mom came out and wasted no time herding them back around to the front of the den. While two of them continued to play fight, one kept squeezing itself under the log and Mom would hop over it and grab the ambitious kit by the scruff of its neck and put it with the others.

Carl and Sophia's amazed wonderment at the pups was as good as the pups. There was a time where Daryl would've been just as amazed as they were. But living in the woods of Georgia made sights like this second nature. Even if it did make him an oddly sad that he had taken this stuff for granted, watching the kids watch these bundles of fur brought back some of that magic for Daryl.

He'd have to take them out in the woods some more when they got back.

They could've stayed up in that tree forever, unfortunately it was getting dark so they climbed down.

_Maybe it's not the best idea _Daryl fought with himself as they made their way back. He wasn't so much doubting himself, mostly just to let himself off the hook. There was no need to upset them. When they were still riding the high from watching the fox puppies.

A blurry shadow danced ahead of them through the forest line. The kids froze simultaneously and then ducked around a tree, Carl pulling the gun out of his pants. Daryl silently stalked up to shape.

It was nothing more than was an empty garbage bag caught in a bush; a false alarm but a sign.

Daryl didn't want Carl and Sophia to starve as they had been lately, or lose sleep because they were too afraid to close their eyes. He didn't want them fighting to survive on the road anymore. It had to end, and he feared if he took the easy way out and didn't make this call, it could end bloody. He started dragging his feet when they reached the tree line. The kids got ahead of him, still talking about the foxes.

"Hey, hold up a second," Daryl called to them.

The kids stopped their gait. They looked around the field for whatever made Daryl call to them. They didn't see anything but the wide, open plain and the ranch house in the distance.

"I think it's time we find ourselves a vehicle and get serious about going to Fort Benning," Daryl blurted out.

It took a few seconds for what Daryl meant to sink in. They weren't wholly going to look for their families anymore. The realization of that on their faces made Daryl want to take it back.

"How would they know we went there?" asked Carl.

"Because that was the plan. We're lucky we had one."

"What if they aren't there? What if they never made it?" asked Carl.

Like Daryl predicted it going down it was Carl who fought him, Sophia choked a cry into soft whimper and looked down at her shoes.

"Then I'll head back and look for 'em. I promised you that we'd find yer families and that hasn't changed. We'll find them," said Daryl. "Think 'bout how hard the last few days have been. It'll be a whole lot harder if we continue on the way we have been out here in the sticks. Our best shot is to get to that base and get better equipped for this."

They were getting sort of teary eyed. It was hard to accept that it was looking more and more that they weren't going to stumble upon their families any day on the road. Daryl knelt down by them so they'd all be on eye level, something he had been doing since day one (okay, maybe day three).

"I know this is tough an' that y'all are scared," said Daryl in the gentlest tone they had ever heard from him. "But if anyone could make it, it's us. Think of everything we've been through; the miles we've walked, the walkers and the dogs, to sleeping in a cattle car. It's gonna be alright. Ya trust me?"

And yet after all that, Daryl had to ask if they trusted him.

They would follow him anywhere and it wasn't so much that they had to anymore but that they wanted to.

* * *

><p>The grace sayer, Pastor Dan, showed them to the spare accommodations, a tent trailer that was pretty pathetic compared to the thirty-foot monstrosities around it but to people who had been sleeping on hard floors without any bedding for the past two nights it was heaven.<p>

Their bellies were full and their bodies weren't completely maxed out either.

So naturally, submerged in the dark they had to fight to keep their minds out of blacker places.

"Daryl, Carl keeps touching my head," whined Sophia, swatting away Carl's hand from the braid he kept touching because it felt weird.

"Carl stop touching her," Daryl said from the opposite wing of the trailer.

"She's on my side of the bed."

"That don't mean you can poke her but Sophia get back to your side."

"I'm not on his side."

"Yes you are. This line is my side." Carl drew a line with his finger on the sheet.

"That's not fair. Your side is bigger then my side and I need more room for my very looong legs." Sophia kicked one of her legs up to demonstrate and accidently hit Carl.

"Daryl, Sophia kicked me," Carl mimicked Sophia's voice.

"Sophia don't kick Carl."

"He's being an ass hat."

They may be best friends but that didn't mean there wasn't a limit on the time they could spend together and not get on each other nerves.

"Hey watch your mouth, Missy," joked Carl, who really wasn't trying to fight with her, which added to her annoyance with him.

"Don't call me that." Sophia rolled over to face away from Carl.

"How 'bout Mr. Grumpy Gills," Carl impersonated Dory from _Finding Nemo _and poked her cheek.

"Quit it."

"Carl Grimes and Sophia Parton, don't make me come over there," Daryl threatened lightly.

"I'm not doing anything and Parton isn't my last name."

"What is it?"

"Not telling."

"Parton it is then."

"Why Parton?"

" 'Cause you were singing Dolly Parton's _Jolene_ in the shower."

"Do you know who sang _Fancy_,smartie pants?" Sophia quizzed him.

"Bobbie Gentry did it first, then ol' whats her butt - Reba did a cover," answered Daryl. "Damn you, girl. You got me questioning my sexuality, now I'll never be able to go to sleep."

"Then tell us a bed time story," suggested Carl.

"Well, seeings how yer both perverted, I'll tell you the story of the trailer park prince and the naked wenches."

The kids went in to a small laughing fit.

"Once upon a damned time the trailer park prince was out questing for oil far from his kingdom of White-trashos and while he was out that way he decided to go hunt some golden elk."

"Are golden elk bigger than golden stags?" asked Carl.

"Oh yeah, huge an' their tempers are as sharp as their razor edged antlers. He bagged two of them, woulda taken a third except it wouldn't fit in his – um- his,"

"Chariot," said Sophia the encyclopedia of fairy tale lore.

"Yes, they wouldn't all fit in his Ford F-250 chariot with dual exhaust. After about two weeks the trailer park prince headed back to White-trashos. He strings the elk up in the little shed before he walks through the back door and standing in his kitchen are two butt nekkid chicks who start screamin' their heads off. Not to blame them, the prince had a bunch of elk blood on him and hadn't showered in eons-"

"Ewww," Sophia commented.

"He smelled like you wouldn't believe but it helps ya hunting. Animals will pick up on the smell of soap fast. B.O not so much. Anyway, the wenches were screaming and he was standing there like a bump on a log, tired and confused as hell, thinking he somehow wandered into the wrong house with the same ugly maroon couch with the duct tape on it. All the racket brings in his servant who was holding down the fort and because God thought the trailer park prince was having too good of a time recently, his servant was butt ass too."

They knew that Daryl was reshaping his life into these fairy tales and given the servant's past time of getting high in the story of the trailer park prince and the nasty carpet, they knew the servant was Merle.

"So the trailer park prince jabbed a fork into both his eyes. The end."

* * *

><p>"Daryl, hey Daryl, you awake?" asked Carl.<p>

Occasionally there was some noise from the other people around them. After being alone for so long, it was a shock to hear. In the silence of their trailer, Carl could hear him moving around and was wondering if he wasn't the only one staring up at the ceiling. The chuckling on the other side confirmed the answer to the question.

"What's so funny?"

"I used to do that to Merle when we were kids. He'd be trying to sleep and I would be chattin' away and if he didn't answer me that's exactly what I would say," Daryl laughed. "Actually we were sharing a motel room last spring and I kept doing that, just annoyed the piss outta him."

His laughter faded away after hitting a bit of a lonely note, which made Carl remember how sad Daryl looked when he mentioned Merle this morning.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Everything, I guess."

Guess they were going to talk about everything.

"That dirt bike you were talking about, did you still have it?"

"No I crashed into a fence. I got a scar from that on my chest. If the barbed wire sliced up any higher, it could've taken out my vocal cords and I'd be talking to you through one of those little amplifiers that make you sound like a robot."

"It would be awesome to have a robot. You could get it to do all the stupid stuff you didn't want to do," said Carl. Daryl felt like he was talking to the past version of himself.

"I suck at working anything electronic, I'd accidently program it to kill me. Think the most I could handle would be one of those tiny circular vacuums that look like Discmans that run around on their own and suck up anythin' ya spill."

"You couldn't accidently get a robot to kill you. The first rule in their program is that they can't kill anyone."

"You seem to know your shit. If the world goes back to the way it was, I'm gonna count on you to hook up everything that needs to be plugged in and set the clock on the DVD player for me because I can't stand when it blinks."

"DVD players don't have clocks."

"Well I had one that did."

"Good luck finding another one with a clock."

"Wal-Mart."

"I never took you for someone who'd shop at Wal-Mart," said Carl.

"I effing love Wal-Mart," admitted Daryl. "It's cheap and you can get everything there, don't need to go to a billion places."

"Not everything."

"Name one thing that ya can't get at Wal-mart."

"Kinder Surprise eggs."

"Yeah ya can. Right next to the DVD players with clocks."

"No. They banned them everywhere."

"What? We're talking about those chocolate eggs with toys inside them, right?"

"Yeah, they're a choking hazard."

"What? Jesus, why don't they shoot the Easter bunny while they are at it," Daryl gripped. "My guts kinda hurt, do your guts hurt?"

"Yeah a little." Carl's stomach hadn't felt right since dinner, sort of a mild burning at the bottom of it.

"I think those hot sauce shots might've been a stupid idea. We might be in some misery tomorrow. But best not let that girl know, won't ever hear the end of it."

Whatever bodily discomfort may be in store for him, Carl wouldn't trade it for the bond he felt between him and the quick-tempered redneck. He'd raise another glass of hot sauce to the toast of future stupid stunts.

"Hey Daryl."

"Yeah."

"When we get back, we can still be friends right?"

"Of course. We'll probably get along better 'cause I won't be worryin' all the time 'bout keeping your asses safe and fed."

"I'm sorry I hit ya the other day. Probably shouldn't a done that." Daryl ran through the situation that led to that event again in his head and really couldn't imagine any other outcome. Carl had been refusing to listen and could've gotten himself killed if he came up on a walker unexpectedly and Daryl wasn't able to cover the distance in time. "But you or Sophia start endangering your lives or others. I probably won't ever hesitate to hit ya upside your head. Just not so hard next time."

"Meh, you didn't hit me that hard," Carl shrugged.

They fell silent. Carl was getting close to being able to fall asleep. He heard small _clicks _of Daryl biting his nails. They had been around each other long enough for him to recognize it was sometimes a nervous tic of Daryl's.

"You said Merle was in the army, right?"

"He spent more time in military prison then actually serving but yeah he was. Why?" Daryl heard himself come off a little short but he really didn't want to be reminded of Merle right now. He was mad at himself for bringing him up before.

"If we thought to go to a army base, Merle probably did too, what with his training and all."

_How come I never thought of that? _Daryl thought.

That was probably why Merle never came back to the quarry. Not only because he was left behind by Rick and Co. but also his crude patch job of his mutilated arm was a temporary fix. Carl was right, high or not, Merle's military training would've kicked in and dictated he get proper medical care.

There was a good chance his brother was alive.

"Hey Carl."

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

* * *

><p>Barking and laughing of rowdy guys outside sent shivers down Sophia's spine. She kept telling herself that they weren't as close as they sounded. Then there would be another hoot or a holler that could've come from a meter away blowing her lie out of the water.<p>

She tiptoed over to the door to make sure no one was going to come barging in the middle of the night. Due to the darkness she couldn't see the handle or the door for that matter. Her fingers brushed against the canvas until they came on the hard side of the door.

"It's good an' locked, sweetheart," Daryl said without even having to open his eyes to know who was rattling the door.

_So close_, Daryl thought. Carl was fast asleep, so right on time Sophia had woken up upset about something or other.

He sat up and patted the side of the bed, inviting her over. Sophia accepted it and gladly curled up under his arm.

"What's wrong?" he yawned. He was really counting on their close proximity to do all the heavy lifting in calming her down.

"What isn't?" she sniffed.

"Sure we've had a rough few days, but we're doing fine tonight. I ain't gonna let a thing happen to a single blonde hair on yer head," Daryl yawned. "An' you can take that right to the bank."

Sophia didn't look like she felt better.

"Is this about the goldfish again? Because hun, I don't know what to tell ya. I'm sure they live happy lives. They got people to feed 'em and fun caves and stuff to swim in."

"'Cept the bubble eyed ones who can't swim good but its not that."

"As much as I wish I could read minds, especially yours, I can't. So spit it out."

"I'm worried about my mom."

Ever since Carl had asked _what if they didn't make? _earlier, all Sophia could think about was what if something horrible had happened to her mom while she was gone.

"I'm sure she's fine."

"You don't know that," Sophia challenged his comforting words. Well Daryl was out of ideas, "my mom's the only one I have left, if somethi-hing hap-pens to her…" the rest of the sentence degraded in to a wheezy, squeaky mess. Daryl got the gist of it anyway. She was scared of what would happen to her if she became an orphan.

"What ya'd think we'd stick yer ass in a basket and send ya down a river? Oh Soph," said Daryl, "Ya think anyone in the group wouldn't put a roof over yer head? That Lori wouldn't keep clothes on your back? Ya think I'd let you starve?"

"I guess I can't promise that yer mom is alright but I can promise that you will always be looked after."

What he said still didn't make it a guarantee even though it was paranoia to think that group would leave her to her own devices if something ever happened to her mom. What really made her feel better was the fact that Daryl had been taking care of her this whole time. If the absolute worse had happened, there was no doubt in her mind that he'd continue to.

She wiped the last of the tears away. Daryl flopped back down, hoping to get a little sleep before Sophia felt that bubble eyed goldfish were the saddest things in the world.

_Just ask_. Sophia thought stayed sitting on his bed.

_He's going to say no._

_You won't know unless you ask._

"Daryl?" she squeaked.

"Mmmmhmm."

"Can I - um - can I stay here?"

_Do you have too? _ Daryl's mind whined. He wasn't so much a fan of sharing space. Instead his mouth said; "Do ya have your own pillow over there?"

"Yes."

"Grab it. I drool a lot in my sleep." Not completely untrue but mostly he wanted a boundary.

He regretted this decision immediately but the way jovial way Sophia bounded across the small trailer to her and Carl's bunk, grabbed her pillow and bounded back was enough to make him grin and bare it. He made his bed, now he had to lie in it and share it with Sophia.

"I prefer the outside if ya don't mind." Daryl figured that he could move her back once she fell asleep.

Sophia crawled around him to the inner side of the bed. As long as she was by Daryl she didn't care which side of the bed she was on. She settled in with a few kicks to the blanket, right on the edge of her pillow.

"G'night," she whispered.

"Night."

"I'm really happy that you're alright," she had to let him know she cared.

"Take a whole lot more than a knock to the head to put me down."

Sophia had jittery butterflies in her stomach that were keeping her from falling asleep. They weren't the same butterflies she had when her and Carl held hands or more.

This was completely new to her and that's what made it exciting. Her father never let her sleep with them when she was little kid and was afraid of the dark. She had outgrown her fear of the dark and most people would say that she should've largely outgrown this need but it was too hard to move past something you'd been denied.

_Just go for it. _Sophia thought.

It took a little while for Daryl to get used to having a living, breathing, and fidgety body next to him. He had decided that lying on his back was the best call. It did keep a good space cushion between them until Sophia crossed the line between their pillows to hug herself against him.

It was a shock, and it would be a lie to say it didn't cause him to jump a little but he could honestly say he wasn't completely surprised. There had been a buildup over the days to this moment. Her eyes were closed but she was too tensed up to be asleep. Daryl kept still long enough to catch Sophia peek through one eye.

_Busted _they both thought.

Sophia had a feeling Daryl wouldn't want her there. It was nice for the little while it lasted.

"Sorry – I – uh" She sat up, rubbing her eyes, tried to pretend she had been sleeping the whole time.

"Nah its ok, if ya wanna sleep here, you can sleep here," Daryl coaxed her back down. They both thought of that historic night at the Holiday Inn. "All ya had to do was ask."

"_She's your type…leggy and blonde." _Merle's voice mocked and disturbed his new tolerance.

No it wasn't that.

Daryl's mom died in a fire when he was young, the house was completely destroyed. Him and his dad lived in a cheap motel for a little while. Or rather his dad lived at the pub and he lived in the thin walled motel. He remembered nights where he would be all alone in that cheap room, willing to do anything for something familiar.

He couldn't help but wonder if he giving a feeling of security to Sophia right now. He hoped so.

"I had a stuffed elephant when I was little kid and I always chewed on its ears, it became such a habit I did it in my sleep till I chewed one right off," said Daryl. "So if you wake up with no ears that's why."

She laughed and nuzzled him a little more.

_You've been neglected something awful. _Daryl was beginning to clue in on her behavior.

"Sophia, have you ever been belted before?" asked Daryl, she shifted uncomfortably. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to. I understand if ya don't."

"Is that how you got the scars on your back?" She asked.

"Yeah, most of 'em."

Sophia wished she never asked that. She thought about her mom stirring spaghetti sauce on the stove with a white plaster cast on her wrist, about Tucker skipping school because of a black eye and a split lip. Finally to Daryl, in his case she hadn't been there, but she could vividly see him with ribbons of blood on his back coming through his shirt. It wasn't fair.

Her throat closed up, it escalated quickly to her sobbing into his shirt.

"It's ok," shushed Daryl.

"No it's not. It's not fair," she said loudly. "That never should've happened to you."

"Well it did. There ain't anything we could do 'bout it now so quit crying."

Sophia was looking at him with in such pain that you'd think that she just had been belted. Daryl had heard about people like her who had a hard time separating their pain from other people's pain. That must be hellish.

She cried herself out and went back to sleep. He got to sleep then to. A quiet whining woke him up after what felt like no time at all.

_What now? _ He grouched silently.

Sophia was sleeping soundly, nested on his collarbone. He didn't know the proper statistics but if these kids were anything to go by, one out of two of them had nightmares. Daryl unlatched himself from Sophia and crossed the trailer. Very gently he rocked the kid until Carl snapped awake.

"Whoa, it's ok." Daryl grabbed him before there was a Carl shaped hole in the wall "Ya were having a bad dream."

Embarrassed by this uncontrollable display of fear, Carl tucked himself back in. When he closed his eyes, the walkers came back with a vengeance.

Daryl lost track of the times he heard Carl try to resettle himself. He probably remembered whatever had him crying out in his sleep and may be feeling the same way Sophia had before she nuzzled herself in by him. The difference between the two would be that Carl wouldn't admit it at all.

_Aw hell. _Daryl thought.

"Carl. Hey Carl."

"Yeah."

"If you're cold, you should come over here. We're nice and toasty,"

In about two minutes, the bed population went up by one more person. Carl brought his own pillow and two seconds later his own blanket.

"She's a blanket hog," he explained.

Sophia groaned and head butted Daryl's jaw as if she heard that.

"I gotta theory is that she's really a lizard and needs to be on something warm to digest her food."

"Lizard, more like sleeping with a dinosaur."

"We shall call her the Sophiasaurus Rex." Daryl petted her head but was careful not to mess up his handy work. "And you are a Carloraptor, because you may be smaller but yer as fierce and just between us a little smarter then the Sophiasaurus Rex."

"Then you're a Darylceratops because you normally hold your ground, rather than run. and you're preyed on by the Sophiasaurus Rex."

_And you got a soft side past the horns._

* * *

><p>Daryl woke up with a start as he was inches away from falling off the bed. Carl had taken the lion share of the bed, taking over the pillow Sophia wasn't using anyway. She was curled right up against his back, pushing against him obstinately like she was getting mad over not being cuddled. Daryl scooched her back, and put his arm around her. The bed felt so much better then it had than last night and he went back to snoozing until Sophia started kneeing him in the crotch a little bit.<p>

Sophia woke up when she felt herself being readjusted.

"Sleep well m'dear?" he asked her.

"Yes. You?"

"Pretty good," Daryl started in on

"Don't" Sophia took Daryl's hand away from him and wouldn't give it back.

"Nothing there anyway," Daryl turned the tables and grabbed her hand. "But you have fingernails."

"Ahh don't" Sophia tried to pull her hand away from him.

The skirmish between the Sophiasaurus Rex and the Darylceratops, complete with snapping teeth, disturbed Carl.

"You bite me, I'll bite you right back," warned Sophia.

_What the heck are they doing? _Carl wondered but didn't feel curious enough to investigate, instead he threw his blanket over his head. That let Sophia and Daryl know he was awake.

"Good morning, starshine," Sophia greeted him, ripping the blanket back, "the earth says hello."

She didn't think it was that funny of a saying but it made Carl and Daryl laugh for a good long while.

"Y'know we never found out if you're ticklish," said Daryl.

They found out that Carl was as ticklish as they were. After he paid his dues, the three of them found themselves in close proximity to one another. Something probably best described as a puppy pile.

"Whaddya say we hang around here today, find a running vehicle and anything else useful we can find on the road around here. Get one more good sleep and head out tomorrow," Daryl opened up a discussion on the up coming plan.

They agreed.

Oddly enough, Daryl felt no motivation to get going at all. The same excuse going through his mind over and over again.

Five more minutes.

* * *

><p>Author's Note:<p>

We survived the Mayan apocalypse prediction. Don't know about y'all but I was a little disappointed the dead didn't rise up.

Hope you all had a very happy holidays;_Writergirl94, The Phan Ghost, Kaleiburzz, ObsidianBttrfly, ObeyTheFluff, LoneAngel666, 6747, Lucifier's Garden, kajo, Angelwiththeblackestwings, puppery84, shygirl04, war90, Blessed Me, WTFdoUwantNOW, ChesireCatGrin3421, tracys dream, rat, Rebecca taylor, FakeASmile90, Kountry101, piratejessieswaby, JesseGlennFan, Guest, Unfeigned (2x), zombieslayer5, BLUENIGHT23, The Cocky Undead, GemmaTellerSoa, morbidmandee, VoodooInTheTARDIS, MarionArnold, Surplus Imagination, the-bond-of-brothers, Ihasabukkit, but-the-clouds, empath51780, leg64, sonshinedaisy, BakerTennantTardis, LittleAngelina, Auds1978, ActiveIngredient, LeanneDaseyLover, sherlockian2205, Mackadukey, Zeyden (2x), cheezy3, Merry, Mac, crystal2817, _and last but certainly not least, marathoner _Jpgfury _(7x)

On Sophia and Daryl's part, I found this on her page over at AMC website "Worried her mother will be the next one to die, Sophia becomes unnerved as the Walkers appear to organize."

Most of you will probably know the line "good morning starshine, the earth says hello," from the movie _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ (2005) did you know the quote wasn't originally to that movie but was a reference to the musical, _Hair. _

Trivia Challenge: Finish the chapter title. Think a back to Season 1. A little ominous perhaps.


	25. They Ain't Yer Kin

A special shout-out to Lucifer's Garden for recommending the song, "Broken Ones" by Dia Frampton. If this story were a TV show, that song would've been playing over the moment between Daryl and Sophia, starting when she got up to check the door. I absolutely love this song.

* * *

><p>A corpse hung out of the drivers window of a red punch buggy. Daryl jabbed at it with a cane. It was a fancy cane, made of oak or mahogany, he wasn't refined enough to tell what it made of but he knew it would be expensive and ergo fancy and it made him feel sophisticated-as-fuck, that's exactly how he phrased it. Daryl wasn't even trying to censor himself anymore, by now the kid's had heard it too much and they thought it was funny. Maybe he'd gotten unbelievable soft but he felt happy when he made them laugh so fuck was being tacked on to a lot of things.<p>

"This brings me back to my childhood," he said, rapping it on the back of the head,

"Would go down to tha big river and poke at the floaters."

Carl and Sophia exchanged perplexed looks.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Carl.

"Maybe. Maybe not," answered Daryl. "Here. Hold my cane."

"Bet you'll be saying that more in the future," teased Carl as he caught said object when Daryl tossed it over to him.

"Careful now, make a good beatin' stick too," said Daryl.

Since the body had failed at giving them any reaction, Daryl passed threw open the passenger door and dragged the body out. Sophia grabbed the large purse from the backseat. The body had been a her. But for their purposes it was better not to think of them as anything but objects.

They walked back down the stretch of abandon vehicles that they had been circling around like vultures for the whole morning.

"How come I'm doing all the work?" asked Daryl dragging the body down the road.

"Because you are built for it," answered Sophia. She picked up the red slip on shoe that popped off the body due to the rough treatment.

"Now who's being sexist?"

"Not really sexist. It's more like a diglett is built for digging," said Carl. He had no clue why he thought of that particular thing but that's what came to his head.

"Exactly." Sophia agreed.

"What the hell is a diglett?" asked Daryl. He let go of the body and straightened up to stretch out his back. Goodness these kids and their shenanigans were hard on him.

"It's like a mole but without any legs that we know of because they never come out of the ground," Sophia described the pokemon as she took the moment to put the shoe back it's foot.

"Is this a real thing? 'cause it sounds like yer making shit up."

"Yes. There was documentary on the discovery channel. Digletts lives in the Sahara. They're almost extinct," lied Carl.

"Again with the discovery channel," groaned Daryl. "You two shoulda been outside, throwing rocks at signs."

"Why would we do that?" asked Sophia.

"You kidding me? Because its fun."

"Really? 'cause it sounds like your making shit up," said Carl.

Daryl wasn't the only one who was going uncensored. Sophia's little slips up were becoming more and more, and the habit was contagious as Carl was starting to getta potty mouth as well. Daryl gave them a day back at camp before Lori climbed up his ass about it.

"No it really is. Y'know the saying funner than throwing rocks at signs, there is a reason it's a saying."

"I never heard of it."

"Well I never heard of diglett but apparently that's a real thing."

Daryl went back to dragging the body. With his eyes aimed at the ground, he didn't catch the grins on the kids faces.

In their defense he lied to them first. As white trash as Daryl was, they had a hard time believing he used to poke dead bodies with sticks before now so he could go on thinking digletts were real things.

"Sit her beside Beardy," ordered Sophia as they came to their destination.

Five dead bodies, three of which were walkers that Daryl put down when they first got out, were sitting around on the ground around a plastic anatomy model on a light blue bed sheet as if they were having a deranged picnic.

They had found the anatomy model in the back of van and made jokes about it confusing geeks. It was Daryl and Sophia who came up with the idea to arrange some corpses into a picnic arrangement. At first Carl thought that they had been out in the sun too long but he had to hand it to them, it was a sight to see and they all hoped some weary survivors like them would find it and have a laugh.

Daryl placed the body where Sophia told him too. He had to lean it against the back of the chrome grill of the Escalade to get it in a sitting position. Like a smelly, full-sized doll it fell over to lean it's head right against the one they called Beardy because of the epic, wiry beard still on his face. It gave him an idea. Daryl pulled the plastic heart out of the model and put it in Beardy's cold dead hands and positioned them the best he could so it seemed he was holding it out to Punch Buggy.

"Awwwe," cooed Sophia, adjusting a tie as best she could around the neck of one of the picnickers.

"What can I say, very deep, deep, deep down. I'm a romantic," explained Daryl.

"Moment of truth. First real Valentines?" said Sophia.

"'S'cuse me?"

"When someone says moment of truth you have to tell the truth, so who was your first Valentine? And don't skimp on the details."

"I said very deep, deep, deep down. Never really liked the whole Valentines thing."

"Amen," Carl said.

"I'll get to you in a minute," Sophia threatened Carl as he fist bumped Daryl. "C'mon there is gotta be one that stood out."

"Well there was this doctor."

"A doctor!" exclaimed Sophia excitedly. "Tell me, tell me, tell me."

Daryl leaned back against the van while Sophia continued to play a deranged game of dress-up with the cadavers, finding assorted pieces of wardrobe, and Carl found some props for that scene that weren't any use other wise like a beach umbrella.

"Aight. Last Valentines day, Merle and his buddy Red dragged me out to the local bar with them to go prey on single ladies because they needed a DD. But the thing with my brother is that when he's drinking, he wants everyone around him to be drinking and the thing with me is you continuously put beers in front of me, I'm going to pound them back till I'm shitfaced. So we hooked up with this group of bar skanks and it was country bar of course and we end up doing some two stepping."

A growing skeptical Sophia perked up.

"An' before you even ask no. I only dance when I'm drunk. So there was this couple there that were a lot better than any of us were and Merle is competitive. He figured if he could pull off a lift he'd win this two step contest that existed in his head, only none of the skanks wanted to do it so Merle throws his arm 'round me and says 'do ya trust me, baby brother?' and being loser pissed I answered 'hell yeah'. And what happened next became absolutely legendary in my hometown," Daryl paused for dramatic effect.

The kid's were captivated. It reminded him of his first night in the quarry. Merle absolutely had to go hit on Andrea and twisted Daryl's arm into joining him by the others' campfire. Somehow Daryl got talking to the four children about the time he saw a Chupacabra. He got really into telling it, standing up and miming how he held his rifle up, only to have it be empty and how he tried to put some shells in the barrel.

Having a mesmerized audience seemed to have that effect on him. Daryl straightened up, cracking his back.

"Do ya trust me, Sophiasaurus Rex?" he asked, holding out his hand. Confused on her new nickname but smiling, Sophia took a hold of it. She maintained it when he picked her up. He readjusted her grip to hold on to her own wrists instead of the back of his shirt.

"I'm going swing you that way first and then use the momentum to swing you right around the back of my neck. Hold on tight, 'kay?"

"Ummm," Sophia started questioning her trust in him.

"Don't worry the reason this didn't work was we were drunk and Merle underestimated his strength with my weight and we were standing too close to a table."

Daryl did another glance around the area to make sure there was nothing he could potential trip over or swing Sophia into. Daryl made like he was going to throw her, only without letting go and then quickly, he swung her back the other way, sending her around his neck like a human hula hoop. Carl applauded, and wished he could do one of those really sharp, high whistles, and also that he could flip people around that way.

"That was how it was suppose to go and I think it mostly did from the applause of the crowd right before I found myself on floor, lying on broken glass from the table I crashed into. Cut my shoulder right open. I was still bleeding pretty good when the bar closed so we decided to go to the hospital. And because it was Valentines Day they had a bowl of those candy hearts with the writing on them at the front desk and I put them all in my pocket and decided to communicate with them than y'know physically talk."

"Why?" asked Carl.

"Hospitals make me pretty twitchy when I'm sober, would've been worse drunk. I got kinda good with them. Apparently I kept giving Merle ones that said 'hold my hand' and I gave the doctor that stitched me up - same one who looked after me when I had my appendix out actually - a heart that said 'be mine', meant to give her one that said 'thank you' but maybe it was fate."

Daryl completely clammed up as he started digging through the hatchback of a crossover SUV.

"And?" prompted Sophia, all starry-eyed.

"She was engaged."

"That was a sucky love story," Sophia said as she rolled her eyes. "And do you have any stories where you don't end up at the hospital?"

"Yeah, boring ones like this one time I made a ham sandwich. The end."

"Why are you so scared of the hospital?" asked Carl.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said scared," corrected Daryl, "I just dislike them because awful things tend to happen to you there. "

"I think you're thinking of horror movie hospitals, not real life hospitals," said Carl.

"There is no difference between a horror movie and the real thing," said Daryl. "C'mon you both of you had your appendix out, don't you remember waking up in a freaking dress with tubes going up places, tubes have no business going up. That's horrific by my book."

Smiles escalated quickly in to laughter. Apparently they did not totally share his catheterized pain.

"Moment of truth, Carl." As promised, Sophia got back to Carl.

"Nope."

"C'mon Daryl shared," she tried using Carl's recent habit of mimicking Daryl against him. "In his own way."

Carl thought on it. He did have his own war story as it were.

"I liked this girl, Jenny. So I left her a heart shaped box of chocolates and a card outside her locker. I was too scared to sign my name though," said Carl.

"Did she ever find out?" asked Sophia.

"No."

"You should've told her."

"You didn't know her." Carl shrugged.

"No. But I know you."

_You're smart, kind, and brave. _Sophia thought. _I'm a lucky girl. _

"I'm glad I don't know Jenny, or else I'd have to beat her up. You're a catch," she told him quietly.

"Um, thank you," Carl wasn't sure what to make of that. He wasn't sure if he was a catch

They moved on from their little

To try and get some actually scavenging done. They found a pickle jar full of water with some belly up goldfish that they had to run back

"Moment of truth?" Carl challenged.

"Last year I went out to a movie with my friend, Tucker. It wasn't really a date but he did pick me a pink rose from Mrs. Henner's yard when we walked home."

Her and Tucker had also talked about hoping on a train over on the tracks and running away but Sophia kept that to herself. She didn't want to get into the motive for wanting to run away.

"Sounds like he liked you," said Carl, perhaps a little disgruntled.

"When you were little kids, you guys never pulled a girl's hair when you liked her, did you?" asked Sophia.

Daryl shook his head. "No all the girls were always screeching an' making a bunch of racket, so I typically tried to stay away from them."

"You hide it pretty good but you're such a odd duck," Sophia told him.

Carl shook his head when Sophia looked to him for an answer, only too fast and with a guilty look.

"Caaaarl," Sophia whined, "that is most annoying things in the world."

"I was young," Carl explained. Sophia huffed and shook her head "Bet you got your hair pulled a lot."

"Not a whole lot," said an oblivious Sophia.

Carl tugged a lock of Sophia's hair. She scowled at him. He did it again with a smile. Sophia caught on and gave that little special smile of hers.

"_Telling ya not a moments peace," _Daryl had told Carol about her blossoming daughter.

Daryl knew that Carl was starting to notice girls. He didn't know if the age was the same for girls or when they started discovering how to use their feminine wiles. But standing here, listening to them awkwardly the day seemed to be fast approaching.

"I got my eye on you, boy," warned Daryl. He fixed a lesser glare at Carl and adjusted the crossbow on his back.

"You better keep your mouth shut when we get back," said Sophia in defense of a wide-eyed, red-faced Carl.

"Or what?"

"We will tell everybody that you have a squishy side," Carl poked Daryl's stomach with the end of the fancy cane.

The redneck eyed him up. On the outside it was the dirty glare he gave to people he didn't particularly trust but they could feel it that it was more playful than malicious.

The Darylceratops charged at the antagonizing Carloraptor. The Carloraptor ran, the Sophiasaurus Rex joined the pursuit. When the Darylceratops got too close, he threw the cane over to Sophiasaurus Rex, catching wasn't it's forte (maybe it was the tiny arms) and the cane clattered on the pavement, she scooped it up and they continued weaving in and around the parked cars.

The two sugarivores climbed into a capped truck, Carloraptor locked the doors via manually pushing down all the locks.

Daryl knelt down at the back of the truck. He lowered the tailgate as quietly as he could. It was well oiled so it went down almost silently. He lifted himself up and climbed into the back of the truck box, which was lined with a mattress.

"Where is he?" He heard Sophia ask from the other side of the metal wall.

He slid the rear window back and snaked his way through it, with the exception of his lower half.

"Give it," he tried to grab the cane from Sophia.

Sophia went to her main defense. Blowing his eardrum with a screech and then scampering away into the front seat with the cane. Daryl wasn't able to get the rest of himself in to the cab.

"Are you stuck?" chuckled Carl as Daryl's legs were unable to join the rest of them

"Naw, just caught on something." Daryl gave a forceful tug. One more tear in these jeans wouldn't make a difference.

"Can you go back?" asked Carl.

No he could not.

Carl and Sophia climbed into the backseat. Carl tried to find where Daryl's jeans was caught on the window. Whereas Sophia went for Daryl's exposed belly, instigating another tickling war.

"Yer gonna get it, just ya wait until-" he warned whilst laughing and trying to get as far away from her as possible.

The contortion caused Daryl to get himself unhooked from whatever had and he fell into the backseat head first, literally having his ankles touch his ears, and clobbering Carl, landing on the floor.

Getting kneed in the head twice, Carl didn't find it as funny as Sophia did. She was laughing so hard she started crying. Carl gave her a little shove and she slipped off the leather seat of the spacious cab to get wedged between the front seat and the back seat with Daryl.

"Payback will be swift and relentless," Daryl's upside down head said to her.

They righted themselves at the same time, going into a duel of dirty stares. Until a trickle of crimson slowly ran down from Carl's nose.

"It's ok," Daryl said gently, he pinched Carl's nose with his hand.

"It's just a nosebleed," said Carl, confused. He substituted Daryl's hand for his.

"Well the girl here completely flipped shit when she had one in IKEA."

"I never had one before," said Sophia.

"Really?" said Carl.

They looked in pockets on the back of the front seats, then in the center console for napkins, talking about how his nosebleed was probably a symptom of taking a blow to the head.

"She planned it that way," Daryl theorized that Sophia had a domino plot to taking out the boys. "Tellin' ya, girls are devious,"

"I'm sorry," squeaked Sophia. "I really didn't mean it."

She buried her face into her hands and started heaving. Carl looked over at him

Daryl didn't mean to make her cry.

"I was just kidding, I didn't mean it, I know you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose. Ah jeez kid, I'm sorry. Please stop crying," Daryl begged.

"Got you," Sophia said, brightening up without so much of a hint of puffy eyes or some much as a tear streak. "Also I can kill you with my brain."

"I call bullshit on that, Soph. I think if you could kill people with your brain, I would've exploded on the first day of our grand adventure," said Daryl

"No I had to keep you alive, silly billy," said Sophia. "But don't push it."

Carl looked in the glove box for some napkins. He pulled out a roll of condoms.

"What's this?" he asked.

"That's – um- it's – ain't for nosebleeds and that's all I'm sayin'" stuttered Daryl.

They gave him that simultaneous head tilt, they did when he talked about his graying treasure trail, before they knew what it was.

"Look at this camera," Sophia pulled a clunky Polaroid from a duffel bag.

The kids looked it over like chimps going over a computer, going over it with their hands, looking through the viewfinder. Daryl took the ancient camera from them and held it out at arms length from the three of them.

"Say cheese."

* * *

><p>Jamie ducked under Mike and Molly's RV on the heels of her brother Billy, who had followed the new kids, Carl and Sophia. They army crawled their way on the sun deprived, cool and damp ground toward the back. Carl stopped an inch shy of the spare tire. The coast looked clear, but they waited a minute to be sure. Sophia crawled past Carl. She hit her head a bit on the bumper as she crept out. She ran over to the Brady's van and crouched down by the tire. Billy crawled out next after Sophia waved him over when she thought the coast was clear.<p>

Before they crawled out, Billy and Sophia up and ran off.

Carl and Jamie watched from their spot underneath the trailer as three members of the opposite team chased down Sophia and Billy. They were tagged and escorted to the imaginary prison walls of a picnic table. Billy sat down on top of the table, unhappy to be taken out of the game.

Little did he know that Carl and Jamie didn't leave enemy territory. They only went further back to a hide under another RV. Jamie could see her brother and Sophia, as well as a two other kids who were guarding them.

"Should we try to find the flag or get them out?" whispered Jamie.

"Jail break," answered Carl determinedly.

These newbies that they had teamed up for capture the flag were around Jamie's age, which was nice as all the other kids were younger than her. However there was something about them that made them seem older.

Like her and Billy, they weren't in camp with their families but they did have a man they knew looking after them. From the sounds of it, he had got that dirt bike running as a loud engine lit up the air with noise that made everyone jump.

The two guards curiously wandered about ten steps from their post to see what was going on. Running as fast as they could, they made a break for the 'prison'.

"Hey!" one of the guards cried in alarm.

Fear of getting caught gave her a burst of adrenaline and Jamie surpassed Carl, freeing her brother with a touch.

Carl had to retreat. But not for long, he raced back around, the other kid right on his tail. In a photo finish, he clasped hands with Sophia with a smack that sounded like it hurt. But they were both smiling.

"My hero," Sophia wrapped her arms around him.

They took their time during their victory walk back to their side to see if they could scope out where the flag, a yellow shirt, could be hidden.

"Think Daryl will let us ride on the bike?" asked Carl.

"Prob –"

Two identical boys switched where they were running to when they saw the four of them heading back to their own turf.

"They have our flag," cried Billy.

Billy ran after them as they flied.

"Billy!" yelled Jamie as he ran after the twins into the woods. It stopped the one of the younger twins momentarily but it didn't slow his identical doppelganger or her brother. "Billy, get back here!"

The three boys disappeared into the trees without a thought to what could be in there. Carl ran after them, Sophia looked back for at the camp but continued moving forward.

"Hey I tagged you, give it back." An offended voice echoed in the trees but there was no sight of it's owners.

"We're on our side."

They followed the voices.

"No we aren't. We aren't on anyone's side."

The three younger boys were arguing without a thought as to where they were.

"You bet you're not, Billy James Otto," screeched Jamie as they came up on the three younger boys, "All three of you are in so much trouble when we get back."

They heard them; Gasping and rasping, tramping and snapping. Necros disturbed the bushes and undergrowth as they came toward them.

They were in so much trouble now.

Only thinking of getting distance from them, all the kids ran off. Farther into the forest. Jamie, holding her little brother's hand tight, slid herself down into the rocky crevice that the others had climbed down into, hitting her knee on the hard wall.

The handful of rotted corpses that had been able to keep up, lost sight of them and milled around the area. Way too close for comfort.

Carl grabbed a rock and hurled it into the bush. The sound of it crash landing caught the attention of the dead and they took a few steps in the direction of the noise.

Sophia and the others did the same.

One rock hit bounced off the shoulder of a dead person. It looked down at the rock and then it raise it's head slowly, stiffly scanning the trees. The kids hunkered down.

"Don't throw rocks _at_ them," hissed Sophia.

"Can we go back now?" one of the twins sniffed.

"There's too many of them," said Carl.

They would eventually get run down and there would be no prying themselves out from all the dead hands.

"Do you remember the way we came?" Carl asked.

She nodded, fairly sure short term memory would be point the way back to camp.

"I'll lead them off."

Before anyone could argue with him, Carl ran out. A small raining of rocks alerted Jamie to Sophia's absence before she saw her running out after Carl. The dead people didn't know who to focus on as they weaved around the trees and bushes.

Once they were out of sight. Jamie guided them back to camp. It was startling how much she remembered. Every time she got scared she didn't know the way

"Sara!" yelled Jamie. "Sara!"

Sara ran out to them.

"The new kids, Carl and Sophia, they out in the forest, we got attacked by ghouls and they ran them off," explained Jamie about to burst into tears.

What if they gotten eaten?

"It's alright, anybody hurt?" coaxed Sara.

They all shook their heads.

"Someone go get Regan," Sara called over her shoulder to anyone.

* * *

><p>Time passed by quickly in the woods.<p>

Carl's leg was sore. Sophia's shoe was rubbing her heel awfully. But they weren't being chased by walkers. They had lost them a while back.

"Daryl's going to be pissed," said Sophia.

"You worry too much, y'know that." Carl said. "I think he's going to be proud of us."

They had been being keeping quiet to listen for walkers but with the daylight leaving them, the dense brush making the light diminish even quicker.

"What do you think would've happened if we would've gotten separated with someone else?" asked Carl. "Like Andrea, Glenn, or Dale."

"Maybe less mistakes, and definitely less fights. Wouldn't get any stories about the trailer park prince though."

Sophia knew she wouldn't have bonded with the others the way she had with Daryl in the past week because he was an odd duck, but as he had pointed out, it takes one to know one. They were birds of a feather.

They had gotten close to the camp. Which meant that they had gotten close to the walkers. They were too spread out in the bushes for Carl and Sophia to tip-toe around them for long. One popped out from behind a tree.

They were so close to the tree line, they could see a lot more open sky through the branches. In five rushed steps they emerged out of the forest and in to the open. Into a shooting range. Sophia tackled Carl to the ground before he had time to register the sight of the three men standing outside the woods with rifles raised.

Gunshots rang out all around them. They could hear the _thuds _of corpses dropping behind them.

When all was quiet except for the ringing in their ears, Carl and Sophia lifted their heads off the ground.

Everyone in the camp had come out like onlookers to a car accident. Mothers were clutching their children close to them. Jamie weakly smiled at them. Carl and Sophia got up and walked through the crowd.

Where was Daryl?

They went back to their sleeping quarters. The tent trailer was empty.

A sudden realization hit her and Sophia bolted out of the tent trailer. Carl was only three seconds behind her but she gained ground on him with every step as she raced through the trailers all the way to where her and Carl had looked for the cricket the other night and where they had left Daryl earlier to tinker with the obstinate dirt bike to take the other kids up on their invite to play capture the flag.

There were no crickets chirping the grass this time. No ailing dirt bike either. Just a stain of black oil that made both of them feel like they had been punched in the gut.

"Nooo," Sophia started screaming, collapsing on the road.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: "That sound you hear, that's God laughing while you make plans." – Jim. And they made a lot of plans in the last chapter, which featured all of them being together.<p>

Congratulations sonshinedaisy, GemmaTellerSoa, Lord-Cas, Mackadukey, for getting it.

Thank you so much beautiful, kind reviewers: _Piratejessieswasby, 6747, BeingLolaStar, war90, zombieslayer5, VoodooInTheTARDIS, MarionArnold, Pass the Porn Tea, Unfeigned, SprinklesAreFun, empath51780, JDMlver1, Zeyden, jpgFury, ArmedWithMyComputer, islayzombeez, sonshinedaisy, PrefersFiction, Missy92, ChesireCatGrin3421, GemmaTellerSoa, Ashvarden, peteythepirate (2x), Lord-Cas (2x), sammyjase, Surplus Imagination, won't be the Victim, aunt pitty, Kountry101, writergirl94, Kikiah14, Frankie, Ihasabukkit, LoneAngel666, tracys dream, Mackadukey, Lucifer's Garden, Blitz-Sora, leg64, kdoggt, BlackHeart-WhiteSoul, iAllyD, BSparrow, Roasted, AequusTempestas, Rika24, ideedee, Guest, N3v3r0r11949, TealEyedBeing, Peachuzoid, Carmen-085, cheezy3, LauraSalvatore, MonDieu666, Colgate Cavity Protection, II Kairi II, ClassicalTorture, .44, wolfgal97 (2x), Dino-SOAR, _

This is a trend I meant to address earlier but there is never a need to apologize for not reviewing before or being late about it. Whenever you send me a review, You never know when I'm going to receive it, it could be first thing in the morning when I'm checking my email on my iPod or maybe its very late at night and I'm tired or if I just got a paper cut. My point is it doesn't matter when or what, a review always means so much to me.

Trivia: who were Carl and Sophia's teammates?

Also there is a tasty little tidbit that someone asked to put in and I couldn't do it till now.

Lastly thank you all for being sooo patient with me. Next update shouldn't take this long.


	26. Memories Of What Life Use To Be

A Very Serious Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the epicness that is The Walking Dead. Robert Kirkman, Frank Darabont, Glen Mazzara, and soon to be Scott Gimple and all the very awesome writers who've been more constant than the show runners are who we have to thank for this.

However I do own this story, Whiskey & Cakesters and all of it's fine points as well as its flaws. If you copy it and put it on another website, like Quotev, be warned I have a very particular set of skills. Efficient Internet searching skills I have acquired over a very long career of writing research papers and watching movies and TV shows online. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you as I've been known not to rest until I have found a workable link or a article I want. If you take my story, I will find you.

I also have a bunch of very awesome people in my corner who will also find you.

Just ask not to mention her shameful name but it's…oh wait the little plagarist lost her account. Two different people told me about this and reported it to the admins on the site she was posting on.

* * *

><p>No good deed goes unpunished.<p>

The wind ripped at his shirt and cracked the skin on his knuckles. But Daryl didn't let up on the throttle. He kept as straight and true as the crow flies down the county road that they hadn't taken. The Ferenc truck about ten miles behind him, the roadhouse camp even further gone.

He had gotten what he wanted….

* * *

><p>The bar turned community hall was packed by the time they dragged themselves out of bed. There appeared to be three times the amount of people around. Last night everyone was already seated when the trio came in for dinner and they had kept to themselves after that so they hadn't gotten an idea of the population.<p>

Everyone was talking over each other, young children were yelling and running around the closely packed clusters of adults standing around, chatting over their morning coffee. It was almost frightening to be in such a claustrophobic and loud atmosphere after being so long in quiet solitary conditions. Daryl felt the urge to grab both of his kids to keep them from being swallowed up by mob of strangers.

They got in line with the other people around the window where breakfast was being dished up.

"Good morning," The ex-paramedic's daughter was one of the servers, she was in charge of a steaming pan of scrambled eggs.

"How much do you want, cutie pie?" she asked Carl.

Sophia gave her a flash of the back-off-bitch glare that, from what Daryl had seen at bars, if not minded resulted in hair pulling. Their curl-headed waitress didn't see it as she scooped out the desired amount of eggs on to Carl paper plate.

_Poor Carl, A little crazy and jealous. _Daryl thought.

Then again Carl had been the one to start it with his sweet-talking and flower giving.

"Eggs for little miss sunshine?" Cleo asked Sophia, she nodded. "Say when."

"Betcha you need some eggs," Cleo purred when Daryl stepped up.

Her eyes flitted from his chest, to his eyes, and then down again with impish smile. Daryl didn't realize he was being hit on until he saw that Sophia was looking more like she was going to stretch out those red ringlets.

_Guess she's more than fine with being the only girl. _He thought.

Every table as far at the eye could see was taken. As they played be the first to find a place to sit, Daryl spotted a new sub group of people mingling through the crowd.

Regan and his loud crew were taking advantage of the breakfast bar. Daryl felt his hackles go up as they came closer for some food. As they got even closer, he caught a strong scent of beer and scotch as well as cigarette smoke and pot, which really got him riled up.

One guy wasn't looking where he was going or he was still buzzed and couldn't fully control where he was going as he veered closer to them than the others. He bumped into Daryl, who had firmly planted his feet, even though it meant losing a small bit of eggs due to the impact.

"Sorry man," he slurred somehow sarcastically.

_You will be if you get any closer. _Daryl's expression clearly stated.

The guy had a few inches and pounds on him but Daryl knew his temper could even the odds. He stood toe to toe with Daryl for a couple of seconds in a testosterone fueled staring contest, then he went to go get his breakfast.

A small hand grabbed his. Sophia looked up at him slightly concerned. Daryl cracked a small smile to keep her from worrying.

"Little cranky when I don't get my morning coffee," said Daryl.

He looked, glared, back over to the handful of scumbags. Daryl had grown up around guys like that, the kind that his father and later on Merle would chum around with. Knowing his supposed enemy did not make him feel at ease. At All.

"We could eat outside," suggested Carl.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. We could have a little breakfast picnic." Sophia was thrilled with the idea.

Daryl was in complete agreement.

They carefully carried their plates over to exit. Carl led the way, finding them a path through the people. Somehow Sophia was able to carry her plate with one hand and hold on to his belt loop with the other. When Carl stopped suddenly, Sophia slammed right to his back. (But miraculously she maintained a perfect hold on her plate.)

"Carl, she's doing it again," whined Daryl.

"Is that the fourth or fifth time?" asked Carl.

"I've lost count."

"What? What am I doing again?" asked Sophia.

"Head butting me. Kept doing that last night. You are the most violent cuddler ever. Surprised I don't have bruises." Daryl filled her in.

"You can't help it, Sophiasaurus Rex. You have such a big head and tiny little arms," Carl said to Sophia looking mostly confused and a little sad.

Sophia just went to confused but neither explained it to her.

"Wait, we need drinks," Sophia said when they were three steps away from door.

So back they went in to the crowd. There was a table tucked off to a corner with some juice boxes and a tall thermos, probably containing coffee, catching sun rays on it's steel surface making it shine like it really had been sent from above.

"There's coke in the back," said Carl.

"Ya can't have pop with breakfast," Daryl corrected him.

"Are you my mother?" asked Carl.

That was more of a point in Daryl's favor as last time he took that stance they ended up devouring and then puking up a whole box of pop tarts.

"Don't sass him," Sophia joked.

"Damn right, don't sass me. I'm not your mom, only the guy whose going to have to take care of y'all when ya get tummy aches. No pop."

"'Member when he used to be fun," Carl murmured to Sophia.

"Hey, I'm still fun." Daryl defended himself.

"Prove it," challenged Carl.

"Nice try, ya little turkey," Daryl tossed him a juice box from off the table, then helped himself to a Styrofoam cup of coffee from a spouted thermos. The early birds got all the additives. He didn't necessarily like it black but not having any coffee for what felt like forever, black tasted pretty damn good.

Going back for drinks, they also found condiments that they had overlooked in their rush to sit and eat. Daryl poured a little hot sauce on his, his stomach having made a full recovery, the salt came out of the shaker too fast for Sophia.

"Son of a bitch," she cussed at her overly seasoned eggs.

A woman beside them at the table head snaps over like a hawk, most appropriate for her sharp features. She cleared her throat and gave Sophia a look that made the little lady try to turn invisible.

"Sophia. Don't space the words out so much," said Daryl, then making his accent thicker added, "gonna cuss in Georgia, do 'er right."

"Sonuvabitch, I forgot, sorry" said Sophia.

The woman gave them a sharp indignant look and left.

While they had their backs turned, Carl had laced his eggs with ribbons of ketchup and was now putting a handful of small ketchup packets in his pocket.

"We ran out of ketchup back at camp. What if nobody has found any yet," explained Carl. He stood there like he was expecting Daryl to reprimand him for taking so many and tell him to put them back.

"Good idea. Ketchup makes a great sauce for most woodland critters."

They traveled a less crowded path around the perimeter of the room. At one point they did come across a table but they hopped over it, using teamwork to ferry their eggs across safely. They went out the back exit to the far less populated yard, but still all the picnic tables were taken up.

Since both their hands were full now, Sophia had hooked her arm through Daryl's and them all to a sunny corner of the yard where they sat in the grass. Sophia kept constantly scooting from a large beetle trudging towards her plate.

"Ya see that's what I never got about girls. Y'all love picnics but there's bugs outside that are gonna be attracted to yer food," said Daryl.

"I think there's more you don't get 'bout girls than just that," Carl piped up.

Daryl scowled at him until Carl looked down at his food, but the boy never stopped smiling.

"I blame movies. They make us think that picnics will always be romantic, there are no bugs in Hollywood," said Sophia. "What I don't get is why you put hot sauce on your eggs? Didn't you have enough last night?"

"Never get enough of hot sauce on eggs. It's my favorite breakfast. Would eat it every morning first thing out on the deck in the summer, countryside would be all quiet.

And in the winter I would sit in my living room-"

"Why didn't you eat in your kitchen?"

"I was getting to that. My one dog, Rocky, had to be fed outside, more specifically on the front porch so he could still guard the property. This dog refused to eat anywhere else and in the winter, the crows would be looking for anything they could put in there beaks and crows liked the dog food so one crow would bait Rocky into chasing it all around the property and two other crows would eat his food until Rocky came charging back and he'd eat maybe another mouthful before he had chase after the crow taunting him. There was also a big pine tree in the front yard and cardinals, those red bird with the mohawks, that became their winter home. They were good to watch too."

After that mouthful, Daryl took a mouthful of scrambled eggs, and thought about what all he just said. His admiration of nature had been a personal thing. Not something he would throw out as casually as he just did.

"Wow, That was actually a really nice story, Daryl," remarked Sophia.

"And then the piano upstairs crashed through the floor and on to my head and I had to go the hospital," added Daryl. Sophia rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Dead serious Miss, got five hundred staples in my head. Oh sorry."

"For what?" Sophia tilted her head.

"For calling you Miss, know ya don't like it."

"It's Missy I don't like. I'm quite alright with Miss. You are very welcome to call me, Miss Sophia."

Carl looked over at her, clearly calling her crazy.

"That's just one letter different," he said.

"But that one letter makes them sound completely different," explained Sophia, might Daryl add with the risk of sounding sexist, girl logic.

"What? No it doesn't." Carl shot back as he did not follow girl logic.

Daryl listened to them banter back and forth while he ate. Both kids slowly pronounced Miss and Missy to try and prove their point and they turned to him to make the final judgment call.

"You both-" Daryl lost that thought as one of Regan's guys and Regan himself came over.

He had uncrossed his legs and was on his feet in a fraction of a second, returning the greeting with a glower that said I-see-you-standing-there-better-have-a-good-reason -for-it.

"Hey, Just wanted to apologize for taking you out yesterday," Regan held up his hands in mock surrender. "Nothing personal, just heard the gunshot, thought you were a threat."

Daryl nodded.

_I get it. Now go away. _He thought

"This has been bugging me so I gotta ask. That crossbow you have, you actually hunt with that before this?"

"Yeah," said Daryl with a bit of a snort. Of course he used it before.

"That's hard core, brother. I just used a rifle, had a cousin that could use a bow. You ever been out to Black Mountain area?"

"A few times, bagged a eighteen point out there the one time."

And with that Daryl sort of fell into a conversation about hunting from one hunter to another. It still didn't soften him up to being any sort of friendly though. That led into a more useful conversation about the state of the interstate.

"…backlogged for miles around exit sixty-five, ten car pile up, ain't nothing getting through there. County road two thirty-six would be your best bet. It's about six miles back, it links back with the interstate and gets you around the blockade. It's deserted too, would make a good route for you with those two on your heels."

Regan's eyes went around Daryl to Carl and Sophia still finishing up their breakfast, which put him up on guard even more to the breaking point of him switching to offense instead of just hanging back in defense.

"A couple of folks 'round here said you were tryin' ta fix that bike," the other guy spoke up after a small silence Daryl was hoping would be a hint.

"Yup."

"Ya git 'er done?"

"No."

By now he was glaring at them so hard, Daryl was being to feel hot.

For no apparent reason at all, Daryl didn't want them near the kids even though, the two men weren't doing anything wrong. Standing down wind from them, they didn't smell of anything, Regan had been useful and the other one was simply inquiring about the dirt bike. For God's sake, they didn't even set Sophia's touchy danger sensor off. Her and Carl had apparently hardly taken notice of the men, too busy trying to touch their own toes.

Daryl took a step outside himself and could not believe how judgmental he had become, not to mention hypocritical. He use to be the one that others gave dirty looks to. He was still getting those same dirty looks still from people around here. He no longer blamed people for that as he discovered the answer to the age old question that he use to silently ask; _what's your problem? _

_I have kids, that's my problem. _

* * *

><p>He didn't anymore. But then again Daryl never did. Carl and Sophia had never been his and the sooner he remembered that, the easier leaving them behind would be.<p>

They hadn't been anything to him before, except two small, defenseless people that he had met under strange circumstances…

* * *

><p>He had been looking out the window so long that he had memorized the shadows. The slanted rectangle from a useless fuse box, the outline of a car, the one from the walker standing in the middle of the road, the weird one from the tree that looked like a mutant crab attacking Tokyo.<p>

"See anything?" a sudden voice caused him to jump a bit.

Carl sat up and kneeled on the couch to look out the front window.

"Not yet," said Daryl. "Why ya up?"

"I dunno, just woke up." Carl climbed up on to the top of the couch.

"Ya should go back to sleep."

"Why?" the kid asked him.

"Because…" started Daryl. He almost said because I said so but that might not mean to Carl what it meant Daryl when his father or brother said it. "Because you don't want to be tired in case we got a lot of traveling to do when your parents get here."

"What about you?" asked Carl.

"What 'bout me?"

"You haven't had any sleep. I could take over for a bit if you want to have a nap."

"Don't you worry about me, I'm fine."

"Really, I'm not tired. I'll wake you up the second I see anything. You should go to sleep."

Daryl gave him a look, then went back to staring out the window. If he ignored him, the kid would get bored and go back to sleep.

"It doesn't matter if we're gonna do a lot of traveling 'cause I could sleep in the car."

"Carl. I want you to go to sleep now," Daryl said.

He snapped his fingers and pointed to the cushions when the boy stayed up on top of the couch with him. Carl got up on to his knees like a prairie dog, resting his hands on the windowsill to look more closely out the window. Daryl straightened up as well, but there was still nothing out there. Heeding the last warning, Carl slid down to the bottom and lay back down with rather dramatic flop.

_Why the fuck do you want to be on watch so bad? _thought Daryl.

Most of the time in the quarry, Daryl spent in the woods hunting so he only had a handful of interactions with these two children and a few observations. He had noted that Carl was always eager to help out with chores around camp.

The last bit of the corner of his index fingernail came off.

"You think there is any bottled water or something in the kitchen, my throat's kind of dry," said Carl.

Why did kids always have to a drink after their bedtime? Daryl cursed. If television shows and movies were to be believed it was an everyday occurrence as if they would turn into raisin children overnight if they didn't have a drink.

"I'll go check," Daryl got off the couch.

He couldn't deny the boy that wish, he was sure their situation was just as uncomfortable for them as it was for him. Carl was quick on his heels, which was fine, he was the one he wanted a drink after all.

Daryl had the gun in one hand as they went down to the kitchen. Though they had searched it earlier. He still didn't trust the house not to be concealing some unfriendly inhabitant that their only light source, his lighter, had overlooked.

"Is that heavy?" Carl asked, while he looked over the stuff at the bottom of the pantry for something to drink. "Your crossbow."

"Not to bad," Daryl answered.

"Hey look potatoes, my mom will eat potatoes raw, like apples. Do you like potatoes raw?" asked Carl.

"I'd eat 'em if I was starving," Daryl said

_Less playing a thousand random questions, more finding a drink. _Daryl thought.

Once he found some cans of lemonade, he took on up for the other one. They went back upstairs in that same careful manner and retook their original spots.

"Girl's been crying, she hurt?" asked Daryl.

It had been bugging him, ever since she started but hadn't thought of her being hurt until she was asleep. Maybe Carl would know something he didn't. But he suspected she was just crying because she was scared. She'd speak up if she was hurt, right?

"I don't know."

Carl rolled over on to his stomach and inched closer to the girl, peering at her. Sophia stirred a bit. Daryl held his breathe for a few tense moments.

Another factoid Daryl knew was that her dad had most likely abused the girl. Something he sensed the few times he was around her but he needed Merle to spell it out for him to know what it was. That had nagged at him so much, that after a few too many glasses of Southern Comfort at the CDC, he had tried to explain her that he would never lay a hand on her and had hugged her.

"Don't wake her up," he whispered sharply.

"But what if she's hurt?"

"Can't be hurt too bad if she's sleepin'"

The boy gave him a bit of a scowl but didn't protest anymore.

Daryl didn't mean to sound so callous. Of course he cared if Sophia had gotten injured somewhere along the lines. But for the moment she was unaware of it and he couldn't deal with her getting upset again if she had no discernable wound. Patting her on the head and saying 'there, there' wouldn't do a damn thing.

Their parents would come back for them soon. Daryl calmed himself again. They wouldn't be alienated for too long.

* * *

><p>It had been long though, eight long days, seven of those days on their feet in the heat of a Georgia summer, and nine long nights huddled near each other, then particularly right on top of each other recently.<p>

Daryl had never imagined moving on without them at side.

* * *

><p>The dirt bike's blue plastic plates, black seat, and the metal gas tank sat off to the side, stripped away to allow easier access to a suspected clogged carburetor. Daryl and Carl had matching black grease blotches on their hands as they performed intricate surgery on the dirt bike. The mysterious ailment of the Honda wasn't one problem, it was several small ones.<p>

Sophia was sitting quietly nearby. She had probably asked what every single part did three times until she probably started getting on her own nerves.

"'Kay, I'm gonna need you to pull off that line there. The top one there," Daryl instructed Carl. Who followed through to the letter, weaving his smaller hand around the tight confines of its mechanical guts to the tube.

Carl gritted his teeth as the tube wouldn't let go so easy. Daryl knew Carl liked to do things by himself so he waited patiently for him to disconnect it himself.

Daryl lifted out the science fiction looking part and cracked it open after unscrewing the bolts on the casing. There was a build up of rusty colored sludge stuck in the worm tunnels.

"Poor thing's been choking on this," Daryl scrapped out the sludge with the tip of his bowie knife, then wiped it off on the back of his pant leg.

Being the curious thing that he was, Carl had to poke at it. He wiped off the mess on the back of his pant leg like Daryl just had. It stood out to Daryl because it was the fortieth time that he had experienced Carl repeating one of his actions.

He knew what the kid was doing, shadowing him. What confused him was why in the world would Carl look up to him? After their prayer, he knew that they thought of him as hero for the way he looked out for them. But there was a lot more to mimicry than being grateful for protection, it was a desire to be that person by doing what they did, Daryl knew firsthand as he had once copied his older brother's every move for lack of anyone else to look up to. But Carl had his dad and Shane to look up to, what on earth could he see in Daryl?

Daryl made a vow right there to behave in a manner that would make him worthy of the role model treatment. He wouldn't get mad at them over little things, and he would show them how to do all sorts of stuff and teach them all he knew about the woods since they were so enthralled by it, and he definitely do his best at talking through his frustrations with them instead of knocking them up side the head.

A girl around Sophia and Carl's age with a younger boy came over to them.

"We're wondering if you would like to come play capture the flag with us?" asked the girl.

Sophia looked over at Carl, who glanced between the new kids and her, and then they both looked over at Daryl at the same time, not really asking as if they were asking permission, more like they weren't quite certain. It was sort of like that transitionary moment when they went out the back door of the hall and saw the playground and they remembered they were still children.

"Go on," Daryl gave them a nudge.

* * *

><p>That was it. That had been goodbye. After everything they had been through together. That had been their parting words.<p>

By now they would know he was gone. They'd be upset about it. But they would quickly forget about him once they were reunited with their families. They would all go on.

* * *

><p><em>The windshield wipers beat back and forth with the odd squeak of rubber against the glass. The Dodge had out ran the rain, the worst of blackest, bluey storm were in the rearview. <em>

"_Are we there yet?" asked Carl, resting his head on the top of the front seat. _

"_Oh yeah, can't ya tell," Daryl waved his hand at the wide-open field ahead of them. _

_The old 'are we there yet?' had not been cute the first time. _

"_Fort Benning looks just like a field." _

"_When are we gonna get there?" asked Sophia _

"_We'll get there when we get there." _

_They chattered on about road trips they had taken to visit grandparents or other family members. Carl had once gone cave exploring when he went to go visit his grandparents in Kentucky, and him and Rick had briefly gotten separated from their tour group on the accompanying nature hike. _

"_My dad kept taking us on one wrong path after another. It wasn't scary. Until we met back up with my mom." Carl laughed. _

_Sophia had an aunt she saw every few years in Oregon, which was the full of mole crickets. Daryl was familiar those bugs, which were a abomination as they sort of looked like mole for something that was also a beetle. _

"_And one landed on my leg while I was sitting outside the nail salon waiting for _

_and my mom and Auntie and it bit me." _

"_Mole crickets don't bite," said Daryl._

"_Some do," Sophia said. _

"_No they don't." _

"_Have you ever been to Oregon?" _

"_Yes," _

_Sophia climbed up into the front seat and sat beside him. _

"_You've been to Oregon?" _

"_Yeah."_

"_You're lying," said Sophia. "Your nostrils flared. You're a liar, Daryl Dixon." _

"_Doesn't he kind of have old fart nose hairs?" Carl laughed. _

_Daryl reached back to give Carl a good-natured smack. But the twerp crawled to the far side of the backseat. Sophia climbed back with him before she answered. Clever girl. _

"_He kinda does," _

_He hacked on the brakes, not super hard, just hard enough to knock the yippy little brats out of the seats. _

"_Jesus, you two. Put yer seatbelts on" Daryl smirked. _

"_Don't want you to crash it again," said Carl. _

"_That was a fluke, I'm a great driver. An' I'll prove it." Daryl spun the truck around into reverse and weaved down the road backwards._

_The kid laughed whole time, shouting out any obstacles they saw. After a good two miles _

"_Boo yah," said Carl. _

"_Boo yah," agreed Daryl louder. _

_They also both had list of places that they wanted to travel to around the world. Sophia wanted to see Paris and all its fancy streets. Carl wanted to go to the Amazon rainforest and the Egyptian pyramids. _

"_You two gonna elope?" joked Daryl when they both started talking about how much they wanted to see Greece after learning about it in school. _

"_What's that mean?" asked Sophia. _

"_Means that you're gonna run off and get secretly married." _

"_No," Carl quickly retorted._

"_Nope, I'm going to have a huge wedding. It'll be in a church with a huge stained glass window up by the altar," said Sophia. "and I'm going wear a long gown style dress, with a veil but no train though. My bouquet is going to be made up of soft pink roses and my entrance song will be either be 'A Moment Like This' by Kelly Clarkson, or _

'_From this Moment' by Shania Twain or 'Faithfully' by Journey, I haven't decided yet."_

"_In opinion, Journey all the way but you gotta lot of time to make that choice," said Daryl. _

"_Maybe not. Maybe we'll start getting married young like in the pioneer days," said Carl. _

"_We better keep our eyes out for a good church then, and a bridal store, and all the other things." _

"_Better keep your eyes out for a husband, cause I'm not getting married right away," said Carl. _

"_Well maybe I will. Y'know maybe I'll have a garden wedding instead. We should find a orchid, all the leaves will changing colors soon, that would be beautiful. Yes I think I'll get married in fall, and I'm telling you right now so I expect you both to be there," said Sophia_

"_Who ya gonna marry?" asked Daryl._

"_I'm going to marry Seamus." _

"_Who the fuck is Seamus?" That was Carl. _

"_You meet him once," Sophia shrugged._

"_You can't marry Seamus. Seamus is a walker." _

"_We'll get a divorce. I just really wanna have a wedding now." _

"_Hate to break it to ya, sweetie but yer not getting married until you're thirty." Daryl put his foot down. "I'm not letting ya."_

_That ended that. They sat quietly and listened to the hum of the tires on the asphalt. Then they played I Spy for a little while._

"_Look it, look it, look it," Carl said excitedly, pointing out the windshield. _

_Standing over the horizon was the world's largest buffalo. It got larger and larger as they approached. It was a behemoth when they drove up beside it. _

_They got out of the truck. The air had that fresh rain smell. Daryl took the Polaroid camera over and took a picture of the kids, he couldn't believe that he was being a shutterbug but they should capture this moment. It wasn't any old boring picture, Carl held the crossbow, Sophia had his knife and they appeared to be about to fight the buffalo. _

_They took advantage of the deserted space to stretch their legs by playing a game of tag around the buffalo for longer than Daryl would've liked to stop for but he had lost track of time. _

_The cab was warm and humid when they climbed back in and started down the road. The kids fell asleep in the front seat, Carl slumped over in the passenger seat on to Sophia who rested her head on Daryl's shoulder, she muttered something about finding a beach for their next pit stop before she drifted off. _

_It was dark out but Daryl felt he could keep going for a little while longer before they pulled over and bedded down in the back. _

"_They say that road is no place to start a family, right down the line its been you and me," Daryl sang quietly to their deaf ears. "I'm forever yours, faithfully."_

* * *

><p>Daryl shook off that little, stupid daydream. He had to keep his mind on what was in front of him, not on what wasn't. Those kids would be with their families soon. That was all that mattered.<p>

He didn't know if Carl had grandparents in Kentucky, or if they had learned about Greece in school or if Sophia had her wedding all planned out. There were so many things that Daryl didn't know about them.

Tears aggravated the corners of his eyes. He finally let up on the throttle and slowed down, until he had stopped.

What was that song they kept singing? It had that one lyric that would get stuck in his head forever.

He couldn't remember. It seriously hurt him that he didn't. Daryl wanted to remember every single thing about those eight days and nine nights.

* * *

><p>Daryl reconnected the tube to the carburetor, it took so tricky maneuvering as his hands didn't fit as nicely between the parts as Carl's did.<p>

He was very determined to fix the dirt bike. Not for himself, they were keeping the capped truck with the mattress in the box but to trade for Regan or one of his gang to hotwire their ride. From the looks of the vehicles they had in their camp, they were taking advantage and pleasure of looting from day one. (Daryl wanted to go back in time and kick his fourteen-year-old obstinate self for not taking a lesson on hotwiring cars from Merle.)

A few more tweaks and he gave it another try. The dirt bike started up and stayed running until he turned it off.

_Damn, where's Carl? _Thought Daryl. This accomplishment would be better if he had his fellow mechanic to share it with.

"Hello," said a woman. It was the birdlike woman that had disapproved of Sophia and him earlier.

"I'm Maple Ann."

"Daryl."

He expected her to complain about the amount of noise that the dirt bike was making as he did some test fires of it, (mission accomplished, it was starting up everytime) but she only stood there, looking out at the road, the wisps of bright yellow hair escaping the bun on top of her head reminded him of a one of those creepy troll dolls.

"We just got radio contact with another group heading this way, we think he said his name was Rick."

Daryl's heart stopped.

"Are you sure that's what he said?" Daryl asked.

"Reception's bad, we lost them shortly after. He did said they were driving a old RV that was on it's last legs."

That sounded like their group all right. All this time they had been out on the road looking, here they were about to be reunited. It felt unreal. He couldn't wait to tell Carl and Sophia. They would be so happy.

"Is your family out there?" asked Maple Ann.

_My brother. _Daryl thought. His excitement depleted.

"Yeah," Daryl answered softly.

That Ferenc cube van teased at his thoughts. It was a short distance aways, with potentially some hint to where Merle had gone. It was such a small shot but he had to take it. He'd left Merle once before, he couldn't do that again.

Daryl walked through the camp until he found where Carl and Sophia were entrenched in a game of capture the flag. Headstrong Carl, who was so determined to be like the men in his life despite his smaller stature. Empathetic Sophia, who had been dealt a crappy hand but it had far from made her cold.

They were both so strong in so many ways.

He stood there for what felt like forever, hoping they wouldn't see him but in a small way hoping they would and they would come running over to him, chattering like two squirrels. So he wouldn't do this.

Their families were on the way. That was what he had promised them and now it happening. That was all he owed them. Now he had to find his kin.

In the end, he turned his back and walked away.

* * *

><p>He sat on the hood of a burnt out car, stuck, couldn't go forward and he couldn't go back.<p>

Daryl had gotten what he wanted. He wanted a clean break from the group. He had almost got that when they were ambushed nine nights ago but two small stragglers had fouled his plans.

And in the days that followed, he had protected those two like they were his own flesh and blood, simply because it was the moral thing to do. Daryl couldn't just walk away from two kids.

They weren't just lost kids anymore. They were Carl and Sophia.

He loved the way that Carl looked up to him, pushing him to behave better to justify the hero worship. Now he had done the same thing to Carl that Merle had done to Daryl when he was around that age, abandon him.

He loved the way that Sophia felt so safe around him that she felt the only safe place in the world was right next to him. She would be crying herself to sleep tonight without any comfort and without knowing why he had left. Daryl had turned out to be as much of a deadbeat as his father was.

Daryl should've never gotten so attached to Carl and Sophia. He wouldn't be in such pain if he hadn't.

No good deed goes unpunished.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: A bit jarring, I hope I set up Daryl's memories so that you knew when in the story it had taken place. It's a difficult way of going about it but I couldn't imagine another way of writing this chapter without the comparison of their first night together with their last day. Then the bonus of Daryl's vision of where he would rather be.<p>

I love you all! Seriously I love the rapport we have now, what with all you guys saying I was evil or a ass, all in good natured way, and I grin with glee and laugh because a lot of villains forget about the laugh (any Dr. Horrible Fans out there?) I said to myself that I wasn't going to put it up right away but I couldn't deny any of you another second. _TealEyedBeing, Ashvarden, piratejessieswaby, Zeyden, BeingLolaStar, maraduersmad, crystal2817, peteythepirate, zombieslayer5, Dino-SOAR, GemmaTellarSoa, 6747, Unfeigned, Rebecca taylor, Pass the Porn Tea, Mandie Leigh 44, BakerTennant'sTardis, MorraHadon, NoniRex, Kountry101, Rat, TweedleDuh, LoneAngel666, Christina, but-the-clouds, ChloeTeller2k11, Effigy, kdoggt, MyDearDelirious, BryWalker007, VoodooInTheTardis, Lol, iQueenOfTheZombies, Coco793, h8erade, Punkrockerbabe95, L1qu1d-Cl0ck (2x), Lyric, Lady Laufeyson, wiccan-jessica, Sara Belle Swan is the name, I luv ewansmile, Trueblue, PalmtopTiger999, Ihasabukkit, opensecret, kyri0sity, Guest, Nightingale1208, BanannaFlvdSnow, HelloBruiser, Little Karma, and, xAngel-Demonx3541_


	27. He Had His Reasons

Thanks to H8erade for the song recommendation. "For Good" from the broadway play, Wicked. It fits current events to a T. There are so many good version on YouTube.

* * *

><p>The blood orange of the sunset began to dilute itself upward, causing a hue of light pink in the sky before it turned into the navy blue of impending nightfall.<p>

Obviously Sophia didn't know how long she had been sitting on the tailgate. Her butt was starting to get sore from sitting on the unforgiving wood and she was getting cold as well. Lying down in the cab sounded pretty tempting but she wasn't aching or cold enough to want move out of Daryl's hold.

"_An' I'll come find ya," _Sophia had thought of him saying that when she was hiding in the closest of the Holiday Inn. And Carl and him had found her, and before that Daryl had found even though there was a numerous walkers around them.

Daryl would find Carl.

" 'ey, Soph, how do ya spell your name?" asked Daryl out of the blue.

"S-o-p-h-i-a." She spelled it out, moving away "Why?"

"How 'bout you spell it with an f just this once?" said Daryl, taking his arm from around her shoulder to scrap out some remaining letters of alphagetti from the can on to the tailgate.

He pulled aside a pasta R, L, and O from the assorted letters that had been stuck inside the can.

"No," Sophia rubbed the stickiness from left over tears off her cheeks. " 'cause there was this other girl in my grade in named Sofia and she spelled it with a f and she was perhaps the worst human being you could ever meet, so I liked to be different from her."

"When I was in school, teachers would always write my name with two r's and it always made me mad for no reason," said Daryl, "And don't even get me started on my last name."

"What happened with your last name?" Sophia found an H, two A's and E's.

"When I would say it verbally to someone who was writing it down, they'd always spell with a c-k instead of a x, so that it actually spelled dick, which was prob'ly more fitting."

"Nah. You're kinda loud sometimes, an' get pretty mad sometimes but I wouldn't call you a dick," said Sophia.

"That's nice of you to say, but I know you've been calling me worse things with your eyes," Daryl said. He started stringing together a H, a E, and a R.

"Well when you are behaving in such a way yes I will because when ladies have something bad to say, they say it with their eyes." Sophia put together a D, and a A.

"You have some expressive eyes," Daryl laughed. "I reckon I only got two looks, normal and pissed."

She had seen both those looks but Sophia had also seen Daryl look really unsure when they found themselves alone in the house at that first night, she'd seen him look scared when she had the most dramatic nosebleed ever and last night when he thought he had stabbed her, and sort of when they got close to pushing him in the pool but then she'd seen him happy while they splashed around. And now he looked so calm and warm.

It felt kind of funny to be sitting here like this, sort of like they were just hanging out, should have slurpies and gummy bears from the and not in any real danger at all.

They had to mangle some letters, for instance taking a bit off a J to turn a P into a R, to create the letters they needed and were able to spell out crudely; _DARYL + SOPHIA WERE HERE_. They didn't think the group or Carl would find it. It was just a way of keeping themselves preoccupied. It would make a cool photo.

But now they were done and Sophia went back to looking over the long stretch of road, squinting to maybe be able to see farther.

_Where is that stupid flag? _She wondered.

"You little girly, are too young too look that worried," Daryl put his arm back around her. "It's gonna be alright."

* * *

><p>But nothing was all right and she felt like it never would be again.<p>

Sophia had her arms loosely wrapped around her as she kneeled in the gravel patch, tiny stones digging into her skin, as if trying to re-enact that moment that felt like forever ago.

Seeing there was nothing wrong in their world, the campers that had come over at the sound of Sophia's high cries left the ways they had came. No words or gestures of comfort were offered.

It wouldn't of mattered if they did the only one person that would be able to calm her down right now was gone. Sophia didn't know how she was so sure that Daryl had left for good. She just knew somehow.

Carl stood there in shock. Eventually it sunk that Daryl wasn't here. But that didn't mean he wouldn't be back later. Sophia was just being a scaredy cat like she usually was, thinking that Daryl was gone forever. He grabbed her hand and lead her to a to the grass where they could sit. He brushed the dirt off her knees when they sat down.

"He'll be right back. He probably had to go help with something," Carl told his teary friend girl.

Carl was positive that's what happened. No one around here knew as much as Daryl did about…well anything and Daryl would be willing to help in exchange for the supplies they would be taking with them when they left tomorrow morning.

That had to be it.

"He'll come back soon," Carl repeated.

Silently, Sophia was all out of tears now, they waited like two little puppies for him to come back.

* * *

><p>Their game of grounders came to an unceremonious end. They all lay in the shade underneath the playground equipment in the cool sand. Sam's tail kicked up sand as he wagged it whenever Daryl's hand came near his head.<p>

"Aw man, I'm getting tan lines," Sophia complained looking at the thin line of uneven skin tone on her shoulder.

"Child, please," Daryl pulled back the shoulder of his shirt to show off the start of a farmer's tan.

"I'm all the same color," Carl spoke up.

"You just get sun stroke when you get left out too long, huh?" asked Daryl.

"Yep," Carl dug into the sand a little bit.

If Carl was being honest, it wasn't wholly the sun that made him sick earlier today. He hadn't started feeling ill until after the tingling in his cheek from where Daryl had given him a good smack. His stomachache was not the anxiety of being hit, that passed quickly after it happened.

Carl was worried that Daryl wouldn't like him anymore because he had been acting like a brat. Even if he did hit him, he still wanted Daryl to like him. It gave him a nervous stomach to think that he might not.

"Merle's like that. He would get pretty sunburnt too. I remember two summers ago, it was hot as hell, drought, water bans, the whole nine yards and I had to fix the roof on house 'cause the shingles were rotted and Merle was helping but he was getting stroked out and redder by the minute. I kept tellin' him to go inside but he wouldn't, said he wanted to be there in case I fell…" Daryl drifted off, getting that distant look that he often did when he talked of his brother.

"That reminds me of somethin'. You two want ta hear a story?" he asked.

"Yes." They both scooted in closer to him, crowding in around Sam, who looked like even he was paying attention to Daryl.

"Once upon a damned time, when the trailer park prince was just a little guy, he fell outta window of a tower and cracked his head. So all the King's horses and all the King's men put the kid's skull back together again. While the crazy glue dried, the trailer park prince had to wear this weird helmet. One afternoon, he was out at the Duke of – um – the Duke of Turning-Hay-Into-Shit."

Carl and Sophia fell over they got laughing so hard.

"What? That was the name of the village because they had a factory that turned hay in to shit." Daryl explained.

"Why would they want to do that?" asked Carl.

"To build houses with."

"Eww. Why?" Carl asked again.

"For peasants who couldn't afford wood or stone to build their houses with."

"Wouldn't that smell?" asked Sophia

"Peasants smell like shit to begin with so the smell doesn't bother them. Anyways there they were at the Duke's and he was a hunter too and the young prince found some golden stag antlers and the other prince-"

"Where did this other prince come from?" asked Sophia, "thought he had servant."

"Interesting twist, the servant was a prince when they were kids but then he spent all of his inheritance on drugs and the younger prince inherited the kingdom and he would only let the older prince come back and stay if he was a servant. He sucked at it though."

"Doesn't the oldest get the land?" asked Carl.

"That British rules. In America, the youngest gets it," Daryl rolled his eyes but was grinning. "So the older prince thought it would be funny if he taped the antlers to the young prince's helmet head and the antlers made the younger one think he was a deer and for the next month he lived with the woodland creatures in the enchanted backwoods."

The saga of the trailer park prince may not be elegantly phrased but Shakespeare had nothing on it.

"Was that based on true story?" asked Sophia.

"Yeah. Took a bad spill outta a window when I was a toddler. I didn't wear the antlers on my head for a month, only a few hours and I didn't hang out with any forest critters. But I seriously thought I was deer; crawled around, snorting an' butting my horns into the Jess' dogs and people," said Daryl. "Merle said that our mom tried to take them off before we went grocery shopping when we got home and I wouldn't let 'er so she took me to the store like that and I continued to behave like absolute terror. Took out a bread rack with mine."

"Did your head heal alright?"

"Yeah, but I don't think my people skills ever recovered from me thinking I was deer."

* * *

><p>"He just forgot to tell us he had to help with a errand," said Carl. "His people skills suck, remember?"<p>

Sophia nodded. She had figured out that Daryl's people skills were a little under developed before he told them that story and she knew it probably wasn't because he thought he was a deer, rather the broken environment that inspired his stories. That was why you had to patient when it came to Daryl.

So that's what they were even thought it was getting dark and cold and there was no sight of Daryl or hint of an approaching dirt bike. It got so quiet that they heard the footsteps of Cleo and her mom, Sarah, approaching them.

"We heard he got that bike running. He go out for a test ride?" asked Cleo.

"We don't know," Sophia said softly.

If Cleo was asking that, it meant that Daryl wasn't helping out the campers.

_Why would he leave without telling us where he was going? _Carl wondered with a pang of distress.

"We're having a tuck-in snack and a prayer service inside, " said Sarah gently.

Sophia hopped down. Carl stayed put. Leaving was giving up on the hope that Daryl was coming back.

"C'mon," said Sophia. "We gotta stick together."

_We're all each others got now. _Sophia didn't add. She didn't want to upset Carl. He was so sure that Daryl was going to riding up any minute, she didn't want to be the one to shatter that hope.

They slipped into the ranch house unnoticed and took a seat at table close to the door. The sweet scent of apple turnovers were the best thing they had smelled in days. It would've been the best thing they ate too if they had been able to eat.

The pastor was telling the all too familiar preaching about lost sheep. Who was the lost sheep now? Was it Daryl? Now off on his own. Or was it them? Two kids without any guardian to look out for them. Two lambs without a shepherd to lead them back to the flock.

The crowd sat jam packed together like sardines listening attentively to the sermon. They remembered how agitated Daryl got in the middle of this crowd. So even though they did spot an empty table in the corner, they didn't point it out. Instead they came up with the idea to have the breakfast picnic so that Daryl would take it easy and be able to enjoy his breakfast instead of seething at everyone while his food went cold.

"We must remember in these times, the Good Lord's providence…"

The blessings that the good pastor went on to describe didn't feel like much to them.

Sophia and Carl would trade all of it. Trade the food and the shelter to be back in the cattle car, their worst night, with growling stomachs and scared as hell to be with Daryl again. He kept going on about God taking care of them. Neither of them felt like hearing it.

It was hard to feel taken care of by God when they had lost another person in their lives.

The woman who had scolded Sophia and Daryl with her eyes came over and knelt by their table.

"Hi, I'm Maple Ann," said the woman.

Carl vaguely recalled that from the first day they were here.

"Around dinner time, we picked up a call on our radio from a group heading to Fort Benning,"

Carl and Sophia felt like a bus, a big bus of shock, had run completely over them. Could it really be?

"Said his name was Rick." Maple Ann continued.

"Yes, that's them! That's our parents." Carl blurted out.

They could hardly believe what they were hearing. Had they heard her right? After all this time of looking, they had been found while they were sitting still.

"Did they say who all was with them?" asked Sophia.

She was still worried about the safety of her mother. In light of recent It seemed that she couldn't trust that anyone else to look after her.

"No, I'm sorry. We lost the signal before too long," said Maple Ann.

"Did you tell them that we were with you?" asked Carl.

"Yes – um – yes we did, they were so happy to hear it, been looking for you all over."

"Did you tell Daryl?" Carl fired another question before Maple Ann even got her mouth closed.

They were both thinking that he might've heard before them and went out to find the group without telling them so that it would be a big surprise.

"No, I looked all over for your friend but I couldn't find him."

So Daryl had truly left.

The initial joy of the impending reunion would've lasted much longer if it hadn't been on the heels of such an awful farewell. It couldn't even be called that. Daryl hadn't even bothered to say goodbye.

"There is a group of us leaving tomorrow meet up with others in Salt Lake City, we'll take you to meet up with your families."

"Did you make a plan to meet with them before you lost the signal?" asked Carl.

Maple Ann was visible caught off guard by how fast Carl could ask questions.

"Yes. Um right when it was starting to get staticky we made plans to meet up at a junction ten or so miles from here."

Carl looked at Sophia. He silently asked her what they should do. They could stay here and see if Daryl came back and then go out and find their parents like they were going to do in the beginning. But they risked losing them as they had lost the radio signal. Sophia answered his question just as wordlessly. The desperateness in her eyes made up Carl's mind. Sophia couldn't lose anyone else.

"Alright, we'll go," said Carl.

What was the point of staying here? Their families were within their reach.

"Great. You two should sleep in my trailer tonight, that way we can leave first thing in the morning,"

With a new plan, Carl and Sophia didn't see the sense in hanging out in here any longer and followed on Maple Ann's heels out the door. They drained from the emotional rollercoaster and wanted to go to bed so that this horrible night would be over.

They felt immensely grateful for the offer when they stepped foot into tent trailer to go get the backpack. Daryl had left the gun behind with it. It was hard noting the crossbow's absence. It was even harder seeing the messed up bed where they had all ended up sleeping last night.

Carl grabbed the polariod photo of the three of them that they had taken that afternoon and slipped it into his back pocket. It would be best if Sophia didn't see it, she was going to have a hard enough time going to sleep.

Maple Ann showed them back across the camp and in to her trailer. It was one of those behemoths that were the size of a small house. Still they would rather be in the cattle car.

"I'm going to talk with some people, a bit too early for me to turn in. You two make yourselves at home," she said before heading out the door.

There were bunk beds at the back of the trailer. It didn't have a door like the bedroom at the other end of the trailer, instead it had a curtain for privacy.

"Top or bottom?" Carl asked.

"Bottom would be best. I move around a lot in my sleep," Sophia tried to joke but it reminded them way too much of Daryl to be funny.

Before Sophia got too comfortable, she thought she should go to the bathroom. Take advantage of one while she had it.

Unlike Dale's Winnebago, it was like a miniature version of a house bathroom. It even had a little bathtub, although it was really too small for anyone other than a small kid to take a bath in.

The button on her pants chose to be her worst enemy and refused to come undone. That reminded her of Daryl so much that her body made up more tears on the spot so that she could bawl her eyes out all over again.

How could he do this to them?

_What if…_

"Sophia," Carl tapped at the door.

Sophia got up from the corner and unlocked the door. She didn't really need to go to the bathroom anyway. She stepped around Carl and went back to her bunk.

Carl found a washcloth in the bathroom and ran it under some cool water. He sat down on the bottom bunk beside Sophia and dabbed at her puffy, irritated eyes with it. Carl wanted to cry too but he couldn't for Sophia's sake. She rested against his shoulder, trembling like a Chihuahua.

"We'll be with our parents by this time tomorrow," he whispered to her.

Sophia looked him dead in the eye.

"What about Daryl?" She asked.

"What about Daryl?" Carl said sullenly. "He left us, Sophia."

"Yeah but…"

"But what?" Carl said when she didn't pick up again.

Sophia had been thinking of how he got stuck in the train tracks before. How he had promised he'd never abandon them. She didn't want to have to say what she was now thinking out loud but she did so that Carl would understand.

"But what if he's out there and he got hurt or – what if something happened to him? Something bad. That's why he didn't come back."

_How could I not have thought of that? _thought Carl.

His faith in Daryl Dixon was renewed.

There was no denying that they had bad luck these past couple days, especially when they were separated from each other. They were stronger when they were together.

"Let's go get 'im," said Carl jumping up.

Carl pulled curtain across its track to block the bunks. He was sure Maple Ann wouldn't let them go off on their own, but she had no idea what they had done over the past week. He cranked open the window and pulled the red lever to pop out the screen with minimal noise and he climbed out, then helped Sophia find her down on to the ground with much more grace than he had clambered out with.

They scurried across the camp the way they had when they had played capture the flag. They set off a security light from one trailer and they dove underneath a truck. Hearts racing as Allen came out and looked around. "What is it?" his wife asked.

"I dunno."

Allen eventually went back inside. From then on they walked at the back of trailers to avoid setting off more lights. No one was going to two kids head off into the night. But it could be a matter of life and death.

They stopped holding their breath when they made out to the road. They looked down the winding gravel snake that they had looked out at several times that day. It looked like a different place at night.

"Let's go back to the cube van at the crossroads," Carl chose the direction.

Sophia followed him, biting back any whimper of fear or cry. She determined not to hold them back as she had done in the past.

Out of habit they had grabbed the backpack. It felt quite light on Carl's back since there was only had two items left in it.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Poor urchins.<p>

If you were all my friends on Facebook, I would not bother you with Candy Crush request even if I was trying to get more lives and I love playing Candy Crush; _DarylDixon'sLover, Unfeigned, ArmedWithMyComputer, vinur1996, Rika24, Rebecca taylor, mks 12 98, 6747, Punkrockerbabe95, VoodooInTheTARDIS, Effigy, xAngel-Demonx3541, bearhead, zombieslayer5, Guest, tracys dream, H8erade, BannnaFlvdSnow, MonDieu666, RebelA2013, PandamonuimPress, Missy92, I luv ewansmile, DemonFireFox (2x), but-the-clouds, kdoggt, cheezy3, Louise Sparkes, NoniRex, Peachuzoid, II Kairi II, MeSapoet, Yazzy x (16x!),itsi3, Sinbar, and Niki. _

Yes I know it was a shortish chapter but it was good place to end it and I swear if anyone says anything, you will not see another update for another month, instead of at _least _one more, maybe we could even have two updates for July. The power is in your blinking cursor once you get into that review box.


	28. You're Family Too

_Once upon a damn time, the trailer park prince made a terrible mistake when he chose to continue the quest without his companions; the incredible squire who had the strength of five knights and whose only weakness was the sun and perhaps his own stubbornness, and a quirky angel, that although the world was a horrible place where everything scared her, she was always the sweetest thing, even with a trucker mouth. Any who, he left them behind because…_

The whole way back, Daryl had been rehearsing what he was going to say to Carl and Sophia to explain why he had left. That was beginning of explanation number sixteen. The first fifteen were a mess that always started with;

_I don't know what I was thinking…_

Then it went to a if spoken stuttering mess;

_Since we found that van I couldn't stop thinking about my brother. If there was a chance I could pick up some kind of trail. I had to know, I couldn't go on not knowing, y'know? _

_I heard that your parents were on the way and I kinda panicked 'cause I felt like I would get trapped moving with the group again._

And the truth came out. He had been running away. Running away because he didn't want to have to face farewell and all other unpleasantries like second-guessing himself for setting out on his own.

It seemed to be taking a really long time to get back. He wasn't sure if it was because it was dark out or it was because he was torn, one part of him didn't want to go back because of what he was preparing himself to do, but another part of him couldn't wait to get back and the inner turmoil was making it feel like a longer trip.

Daryl drove the dirt bike up to the entrance of the camp. It was tempting to go shoot past and drive right up to the door but he didn't want to bother everyone else around when they had been so nice. He shut it off and walked quickly across camp. He stood for a couple seconds in front of the tent trailer. He still wasn't prepared but here goes.

_Knock, knock, knock. _He rapped on the door.

"Hey, you two, it's me."

No answer. But it's not like he was expecting them to come running and jump into his arms.

"I know you're mad at me, ya got every right to be. Let me in an' we can talk."

The door remained closed.

Daryl was aware that he could make something up and lie about where he had been. But he couldn't do that to them. He was going to tell them the truth. They deserved at least that after what he did.

"Ya got no choice but to listen to me since these walls are as thin as they come."

Nothing. So he was doing this out here.

"I'm sorry," Daryl started with the strongest point, the apology, first, "I felt I had to go, I can't really explain it."

He didn't even have the guts to tell them the whole truth. Baby steps. "It's just with your parents…"

His own voice echoing in the dead air hit him with a harsh realization.

He grabbed the door handling and prayed very hard that he couldn't be able to lift the latch. His heart turned to stone and became as uncomfortable embedded in his guts as if it had literally solidified as the door opened.

The tent trailer was empty.

"Carl? Sophia?" he called out in denial.

He was too late. They were already gone.

He sat down on their once shared bed, hugging his one knee up to his chest, and started choking up. He cleared his watering eyes with his thumb and then pulled at a tuft of hair on the back of his head for no discernable reason other than severe anguish.

The memory he had of watching them play right before he left came unwillingly to the front of his mind.

Daryl had thought that leaving them was the hardest thing he'd have to do. But this was. To have Carl and Sophia snatched away from him, it felt like losing Merle all over again.

They were with their families now. That didn't give him the bandaged comfort that allowed him to turn tail.

Were they thinking about him right at this moment? Missing him as bad as he missed them?

Probably not, they had to be too mad at him to be hurting. That was the way Daryl wanted it to be. That way Carl and Sophia could be wholly happy as they were reunited with their parents, where they belonged, and not even a shred of heartbreak would cast a dark shadow over that.

His chest and throat loosened up, and his eyes dried. The loss still stung like hell but Daryl knew just as his reaction did, it would stop in time.

How did that old saying go;

"_If you love something, let it go…"_

* * *

><p>Too conscious of the sound their footsteps made on the pavement to walk on the road, Carl and Sophia walked along in almost silent shuffling of grass in the ditch. Frogs sang around them. It was comforting sound. To Sophia, the croaking reminded her of cartoon movies, which was encouraging as the heroes in those stories always had happy endings.<p>

With a twinge in her heartstrings, Sophia thought about Daryl's saga of the trailer park prince aka the fantasy conversion of Daryl's life before. That, of course, made her think of Daryl.

She thought about how she might spin their situation right now into a fairy tale that she could tell him in Dale's RV while he healed up from twisting his ankle or something minor like that.

Hopefully that was all that had happened to him.

Carl thought less about movies and more on how the sound of the frogs covered up a lot of other noise. On the bright side, it covered up the noises they made, like when he tripped over a barbeque lid. But on the down side, the frog's calls might be covering up the groaning of a nearby walker.

The flashlight's light seemed to drop down from covering one yard around them to roughly sixty percent. Maybe that was paranoia or maybe this was a very bad idea. It was all his very bad idea too, what had he been thinking? Dragging Sophia out on to the road in the middle of the night.

"Do you think that we should've gone with Maple Ann first and then got everyone to come back and look for Daryl?" Carl asked in a whisper.

"No." Sophia answered without hesitation, her explanation on that answer would take some careful wording. "They might not want to come back to go looking for him. Pretty hell bent for Fort Benning."

"Why wouldn't they?"

"Wouldn't want to risk it. Shane didn't want to your dad to go back for Merle and they knew exactly where he was."

_Dad did go back for Merle though. _Carl thought with a surge of pride.

Even though no one wanted his Dad to go back for Daryl's very obnoxious brother, Rick still went to try and get Merle back despite the danger of the city, simply because he was another human being that they couldn't let starve to death on a roof.

Daryl was much more to Carl and Sophia than a fellow survivor. They couldn't risk leaving him behind. Not even for their parents.

Wandering out into the night still may not be the greatest idea but it was the right choice.

Mosquitoes buzzed around them, only visible when they came into the beam of the flashlight, otherwise they were only aware of them when the tiny bloodsuckers were biting them. Sophia hit one off Carl's neck before it bit him so he was thinking that she was lying when she innocently said 'mosquito'. Carl smacked her arm.

"Mosquito," he said equally as innocent.

Time seemed not to pass when everything looked and sounded the same. But they had probably been walking for a while or longer. Their feet both sunk down in to a little ground. Water filled Sophia's shoes as she stepped into the deeper part of the unseen puddle.

"Oooh," she cried shaking her feet as she stepped out of the puddle.

Sophia sat down on the ground, just plopped herself down.

"Sop-" Carl grabbed her arm to put her back on her feet.

"Gimme a minute," she snapped and pulled away from him.

Her legs were sore, her feet were now soaked, and she was getting colder by the second. Sophia's belly and her arm pained like something had been scratching into them as she imagined Daryl lying in the ditch somewhere. They weren't going to find him.

Carl bit his lip and blinked away tears of his own. Sophia's sobs were contagious. He was scared, terrified even while he waited for her to compose herself. He wanted sit down and cry with her.

All this time, Carl had wanted some responsibility, he didn't want to be treated like a kid. But now he did. He wanted someone with them to make all of the decisions, he didn't want to anymore.

* * *

><p>"Hello?" Someone called into the open door of the tent trailer.<p>

Cleo popped her head in even though Daryl hadn't given the slightest hint that he was hanging out in hollow darkness.

"I thought I heard you come in. Came over to see if you guys wanted anything to eat. I didn't see them eat a bit earlier," Cleo hopped up inside and looked around. "Carl and Sophia aren't with you?"

"No. They're back wit' their families." Daryl snapped. What a cruel question to ask. "Where they belong."

He had to keep repeating that part to himself. Same with that they would be too angry with him to be sad.

Cleo stared at him with a confused wrinkle one her forehead. It was sort of like the one that Sophia would get.

_It's going to take a long fucking time to get over those two. _He realized miserably. There were a lot of things that were going to remind him of Carl and Sophia and it felt like salt getting into an open wound, a wound that nothing could be done for since there was no way to cover it up.

"Y'know the group that came in with that old as the hills RV." Daryl said doing his best to keep his voice steady.

"I didn't see any group come in here."

Although this camp was the biggest settlement that he had seen since for a while, it wasn't so big that the group could arrive and go completely unnoticed. Given how friendly Cleo was, basically a one gal welcoming party, Daryl knew it would be completely impossible for her not know of any new arrivals.

"This woman told me that y'all picked up a radio call from Rick saying that they were heading this way," Daryl explained.

"I haven't heard anything about that."

He slowly got to his feet. It felt strange that gravity didn't pull him down since he felt internally that the whole earth had completely shifted. Daryl felt like he was swaying on his feet and he braced himself against the counter.

"It's alright." Cleo said softly, seeing the panicked look on his face. "Someone probably took them in for the night. I'll go knock on a few doors."

She left the trailer. Daryl followed her out.

"Who would know if there was a radio call? Who has the radio?" Daryl asked questions he should've asked at the beginning.

For the love of God, why didn't he ask these things at the start? Oh, wait he knew why. He was a chicken shit who didn't have the balls to say goodbye.

"Allen has a CB radio in his truck. It's that trailer right there, with the chuck wagon painted on it, see it?" Cleo pointed and once he saw the described mural, Daryl nodded and ran over there.

Daryl's knocking was not so much knocking as a banging that would rival the sound of the gun shot would come out of the rifle that Allen brought with him to the greet him at the door.

"Cleo told me ya got a CB radio, have ya picked up any calls from a group sayin' anythin' 'bout Fort Benning? Or that 'is name was Rick?" asked Daryl. He spit the succession of words so quickly that when he was finished speaking he was panting.

"No. There hasn't been any calls come in from a Rick, just the usual ramblings from that Salt Lake camp," answered Allen.

That was too much information for him after the hearing his answer.

A moth found it's way in through the open door. A small pair of hands clapped over it.

"Billy, look it the size of this one," a child's voice said.

Daryl heard something similar once from a young boy with a grasshopper that had been named after him. A new wave of nausea hit him.

_No. _Daryl had never been so confused in his life._ No group? How could that be?_

Allen gave him a semi apologetic look and was forced to shut the door in his face as Daryl stood there completely dumbstruck.

If the group hadn't come for Carl and Sophia, where were they? And why was he lied to?

He walked aimlessly around the camp, in and out of the trailers. Cleo, her mother, and the pastor found him.

"I was told by Winston that he saw Carl and Sophia go with Maple Ann at our small service," said Cleo.

"Maple Ann! That's the woman who told me y'all got a radio call."

The three of them looked at each other with this expression of apprehension. It made him start to pace

"Tell me what's going on," Daryl demanded.

"Cleo went to Maple Ann's trailer. She wasn't there. We think Maple Ann lied to you about your group being on the way," Sarah stepped up.

"Wha' – why - why would she do that?" Daryl managed to string together something from his scrambled thoughts.

"We haven't been in a huge hurry to get to the camp at Salt Lake City because we've been unsure about survivor camp there…"

"We've been picking up radio calls from their camp and it's almost nonstop of this man talking about bringing as many people as they can to the Lord so that they may rebuild the world as our Heavenly Father would want," Pastor Dan explained softly. "Children make pretty good converts."

He hadn't said the word zealots but Daryl knew that was the kinds of people he meant and what that meant for Carl and Sophia made his blood run absolutely cold.

"Please don't let that tarnish your view of our group or others, we would never kidnap children. Some people have just lost their minds because of this end of days and are doing crazy things." Sara said.

"Wait a minute, how would she know about Rick and the RV?" asked Daryl.

Despite what Sara had just said, Daryl's whole view of people was damaged.

Whose to say they all weren't in on it?

"Carl told me your story. I was so inspired by it that I shared it with her and some others. I never could've believed that she would use that information to do this," Cleo tearfully stated.

"We'll do everything we can to help you find them," offered the preacher. "Everyone will."

"Just point me in direction of Regan's group. I'm going after them right now," Daryl said with such determination that no one dare question him.

He was going after them alright. But he was going to flip this camp upside down first to make sure that the kids weren't locked up somewhere while he was led on another wild goose chase.

They told him where he could find the rougher subsection of the camp and wished him the best of luck and that their prayers would be with him and the kids. Daryl followed the directions out to the field behind the ranch house and from there he could see their fire burning very bright then the noise that had made Sophia crawl into bed with him.

Regan saw him approaching before anyone else at the fire did. He walked over to him, rubbing his shoulder. The sound of gauze being scratched could be heard. Was he thinking of the spunky punk who put a bolt in there? Daryl was.

Memories brought up Daryl teaching Carl how to shoot in the yard of the community center. The crossbow looked a little clunky in Carl's arms but not too bad and if given the time to breath he could hit his mark with a arrow.

Carl still had the gun. Daryl remembered. That made him feel a tiny, tiny bit better. They weren't defenceless.

"I need your help," said Daryl. "This is going to sound insane. Carl and Sophia were kidnapped. I need someone who can track. "

"This woman came over here about a hour ago saying that those two kids took off. She offered some supplies if some of us helped her find them. I think about five of my buddies took the offer. I would've but thought I best stick 'round here in case somethin' happened," said Regan.

"Was her name Maple Ann?"

"Yeah, that's it."

So they weren't being held in camp. Carl and Sophia had snuck off to look for him and now they had some leathered back degenerates after them. Guess he couldn't badmouth them too much, he was asking one for help while a 'nice-looking' citizen had taken them. Daryl felt like he was going to have to curl up into the fetal position. Instead he took a step to each side.

"Give me a few minutes to get my rifle, some ammo and such and we'll go. We'll track them down." Regan said as if he was talking down a crazy person. It was probably the whole short pacing thing.

The kids weren't with that damn bitch. Hopefully, if there was any hope left in the world, he would find Carl and Sophia before Maple Ann did and they could leave this place far behind. Daryl had the advantage after all, he could track and he had just recruited someone else who could.

Daryl and Regan went to the point of origin, Maple Ann's trailer. In the long grass there wasn't much of a trail, the only thing they picked up as they scoured around the area was a child's shoe print in the dirt.

They walked out to the road. Daryl squinting so hard at the ground for a trail, his head was starting to hurt.

"You ever take your daughter out huntin'?" Regan asked.

"Um, I don't have one," Daryl said.

Regan looked over at him like he thought Daryl was lying.

"I don't," Daryl repeated.

"Coulda fooled me. When I knocked you – Sophia, right? - told Allen that you were her dad," explained Regan. "She screamed bloody murder when he tried to take her from your side."

"Musta been completely freaked," Daryl muttered in response.

His heart had no clue what to say to that. It was so bittersweet. He was so touched that Sophia had said that. But it made it even harder to stand the fact that he had abandoned her and she wouldn't know why.

A coyote howled over the plain.

Daryl thought about Sam, their dog-for-a-day, and how he took off after a coyote.

Had he been baited to leave his pack behind, dooming them to be rip to shreds?

* * *

><p><em>Carl cut thin stripes from the log for kindling. He had become well practiced with the hatchet in his hand. When he was done, he picked up all the slices of wood and placed them in a bucket beside the woodpile. <em>

_The ground had gone hard from frost. Carl sat down on the chopping block and looked out at the white mountains. Everyone kept saying that it was going to snow any day now and there was a definite biting cold in the air today making his bruised back ache. _

_Sophia snuck up on him, trying to be playful, but her attempt lacked the energy to be genuine. _

"_Brought ya something to eat," she handed him a plastic baggie with some jerky. _

"_You need it more," Carl wouldn't take it from her. _

_Sophia looked down. Beneath her woolen grey coat that was several sizes to big, her abdomen was starting swell. _

"_At least take my gloves," she pulled the knitted garments off her hands and pressed them into Carl's frozen ones. "I'm inside all day, I don't really need them." _

_He pulled them on gratefully. His bangs fell into his face, Sophia brushed them back a little to get them out of his eyes. The ragged scar ran diagonally across Carl's face wrinkled as he gave her a concerned look. He had got it when they got caught trying to run away. Carl had been horribly beaten for that. Sophia had to watch, squeezing her eyes tight when she could, trying to block out the cries from her friend but fearing silence once it fell. She was afraid they had killed him. _

_Sophia was dragged away before she could see if Carl was even alive and she didn't see him for a long time. When she did see Carl, she was so relieved to see he had recovered from the beating that she dropped the bag she had been carrying home and ran across the street and tackle hugged him. _

_Then she saw they had killed something in Carl. Something was gone from his eyes. _

_Later that night, Carl snuck into Sophia's lodgings. A house that she shared with Jeb, the man that those in charge dictated she be with, and Ms. Jenkins, Jeb's mother and Sophia's warden. Both slept like the dead. Though Sophia was tempted to tell Carl to stop coming, she couldn't imagine what would be done to him if he were caught. _

_But she needed him far too much to get up the nerve to tell him to go. _

_Carl wouldn't listen anyway. Coming here at night to be with his closest friend was the only thing that kept him going during the day. He needed her just as much. _

_They snuggled on the couch in the den. They didn't say much. There was nothing good to talk about so they spent their brightest moment of their darkest hours looking out the window as the snow began to fall and wondered as they always did about what happened to their families and the man in polaroid that was taken on the journey that ended here._

* * *

><p>Daryl kept himself walking, trying to concentrate on looking for trail. But he couldn't push away the images; Sophia's belly popping out absurdly from her scrawny body. Carl with half his face beaten to a pulp to receded to a marring scar.<p>

_Please God, please. Let them be unhurt. _He found himself praying. _I know I don't pray a lot. Ok, ever. But this isn't about me; this is about them. Those two remarkable kids need your – ah jeez, what's the word – damn I don't have it right now but they need to be looked after. I don't know much about all this religious stuff but I do know that you don't want what those fanatics will do. _

* * *

><p>They made it to the cube van at the crossroads. Its glow in the moonlight was eerie. Carl looked around for the dirt bike or any path in the brush that would signify that Daryl had come through this way.<p>

Headlights lit up the sky and turned the branches of the surrounding trees to black shapes.

Despite her legs being sore and her feet turned in to icicles, Sophia started to run towards them.

It had to be Daryl. He went off to find a vehicle for tomorrow and just got held up. The dirt bike probably broke down.

Carl was stunned at first but it wore off and all he could think was that something wasn't right with the approaching headlights. Maybe it was the way the headlights were shaped like the eyes of a snake.

He had to run hard to catch up to Sophia. When he got a stitch in his side, he thought that would cost him the whole race but Sophia slowed and he tackled her, sending them both down on the ground as the car, a sleek model.

They crawled on their stomachs into the bushes and watched as the car pulled a U-Turn their way, gliding around like a vulture circling in.

He knew right a way that it wasn't Daryl. The car wasn't really his style, to pretty and not all that functional. Plus the way it smoothly came in. Daryl wasn't good at driving cars.

Sure enough, two strangers got out. Neither Carl or Sophia had to resist the urge to move before as they did when the men started poking around.

"What did you see?" asked one.

"Thought I saw someone running."

They walked right past them. The feeling to flee grew even stronger. They scooched a little farther back. Forest debris sticking to their shirts.

"What do those kids even look like?"

"She didn't say."

"Then how will we know if we find them?"

"How many people are out here right now? Let alone a pair of kids."

* * *

><p>Gunshots snapped in the air. Accompanying white flashes not to far ahead of them.<p>

Regan started running first and Daryl came in second. They reached the origin of the guns.

There were a few walkers, two of Regan's, and Maple Ann. After they eradicated the walkers, Daryl turned his crossbow on the bigger threat. Maple Ann looked scared shitless, looking down the

"Where are they?" was the only thing Daryl could think to say.

"I don't know," Maple Ann said. "I was going to bring them to their families tomorrow but they ran off."

"Yer so full a shit," Daryl never came closer to hitting a lady before.

Then what she just said struck him. Hard.

As far as Carl and Sophia knew they could be reunited with parents the next morning but they still went out to look for him.

_Why? _He questioned out of shock.

It was because they wanted to be back together with their entire family. Sophia had said Daryl was her father and the way Carl looked up to him said that Daryl was his older brother.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Holy Sadness, Batman<p>

I was trying to get this up before I went to the lake (I didn't but not posting a rushy mess, is worth it) so I was going full throttle on this so much that to buy myself a little time for it I did a rush job shaving my legs and when I got to the beach, low and behold my right knee was a little hairy and I thought of you, for the amount of work I got done before I hit the beach so I could get this up, y'all are worth it:_DarylDixon'sLover, tracys dream, Yazzy X, Punkrockerbabe95, VoodooInTheTARDIS, Peachuzoid, mrskaz453, Rebecca taylor (BTW I just finished episode 7 on Candy Crush), BanannaFlvdSnow, PalmtopTiger999, Niki, Sonshinedaisy, Rika24, Emberka-2012, ArmedWithMyComputer, Dixxxon, itsi3, ladyh77, FlamingShadowsouls (2X, nice robotic catch), Guest, Effigy, but-the-clouds, Sagittauris, I luv ewansmile, Unfeigned, forbidenjutsu, h8erade, GemmaTellerSoa, Sara Belle Is the name, Mione788, scarfire14._

* * *

><p>Behind-The-Story: The Origin of Maple Ann.<p>

I've had the plot pretty much mapped out since I decided it needed to be a epic tale and figured they needed to run across some bad survivors as that is what happens in the comics (the show wasn't there yet when I had started) and I was just going to pick any old name for the villain when I got to writing that part.

But on Halloween weekend this guest named Maple Ann wrote me an essay review on how much I suck. I know I'm not perfect and I'm all for constructive criticism that is how you get better, but at one point she said that she was surprised I was a college student and not someone much younger and other personally abusive things, so I was pretty hurt, then I went and reread a bunch of the reviews you all have given me, warmed my heart right back up, figured she was a fugly troll living in a cave with WiFi and remembered I needed a name for a villain and there you have it; the glorious, bird nosed, troll dolled hair Maple Ann.

To the real Maple Ann, if you're still reading, there was like at least 20 chapters when you reviewed and you said you read them all. If you hated it so much, why did you keep reading? If I had the time you had to be miserable, this story would be done and I could've learned Latin. What I gathered from your message is that you are a very angry person and it is not good for your health to be so angry. So please walk to your nearest pet store and get licked by a puppy, pet a kitten, hold a hamster, or just look at the fish. That advice is my thank you gift to you for giving me the perfect name for a villain.

To everyone reading (and I hope laughing) this at home, I wanted to share this with you, not for sympathy as I have gotten when my hard drive crashed, or when I was the victim of story theft, (I've gone through a lot with y'all, couldn't have asked for better companions) I shared this because this stuff happens on the Internet to everyone at some point, have you seen the videos of celebrities reading mean tweets about themselves, and if it ever find yourself in this situation, just dust it off, and know they are simply atrocious people.


	29. Scream If You Have Too

A coyote yowled and whined a hair rising distance away.

"Shit, man." One of their hunters said an even more blood chilling distance away.

A flashlight came on, bouncing around across the road. On the bright side, despite the better chance of them getting spotted, they had a better idea on where these guys were now. Maybe they could avoid them.

"Have you had that this entire time?" the other guy asked. His voice sounded farther away and was kind of raspy sounding.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you turn on before now?"

"Saving the batteries."

"Saving the batteries for what other occasion, shithead."

"Why don't you turn your flashlight on?"

The other guy mumbled something that they couldn't hear but it really didn't matter to them.

"What's that? You don't have one. Whose the shithead now?"

Carl and Sophia continued to listen, watch, and pray they would not be found as they hid in the darkness and the slope of a ditch. The flashlight beam showed them blips of their surroundings once unseen.

It was like a sign from above that they were going to be all right.

A blast from the flashlight showed them that neither Carl nor Sophia had seen due to the darkness. The road that they had been following curved and transformed itself into a low-lying bridge. In the side of it there was a storm culvert, similar to the one that they had hid from dogs in.

Carl and Sophia slowly backed down the ditch to the bottom and crawled along on their bellies. The grass was damp and cold, and it left patches of wetness on their clothes.

A small creek snaked underneath. Sophia got up to her hands and knees. She took a step closer to the square tunnel and slipped underneath the surface of the water with a loud splash. She remerged standing up a split second later, coughing and wiping her eyes.

"Shit, that's cold," she whined.

"Get out before you catch your death," Carl extended a hand and waved it. "Maybe there is a way to get in there without swimming."

Sophia looked at the dark entrance. It was just an empty hole, where they could hide and be safe. Just like before. And then they would find Daryl.

"I can see if there is. I'm already wet." She waded through the water, stumbling over something at the bottom of the creek.

"Wait," Carl interrupted her summoning of courage before heading into the unknown.

He passed her the road flare that had been rolling around in the backpack.

"If there is a walker, I'll need to see it to shoot it," explained Carl.

"How do I make it light?" asked Sophia

"I think you just pop the cap off."

She gave a test twist. The white cap was on tight, like pop bottle cap stiff, but hopefully if there was a walker in the tunnel, adrenaline would make short work of the stiffness.

The tunnel was ninety-nine percent total darkness, it was tempting to pop the flare. She felt up the side to see if there would be any ledge for Carl to sit on so he wouldn't have to get as wet as she did. Her hand felt nothing but a scratchy straight wall and the depth became deeper and she was up to shoulders for one brief moment. It was startling but she didn't scream.

Carl waited on the edge of the bank. He took advantage of the stop to dig the gun out of the backpack. He probably should've had it out before. Thankfully they had been very lucky until now.

A light shone down on him exactly like a prison spotlight. He shielded his eyes with his hand and looked up. Carl couldn't see the guy holding it. So he kneeled over the gun to hide it from view.

"Hey there, kid," the raspy one said. The voice sounded like it was moving. "Where's your friend?"

Carl looked at the culvert, nothing more than a black hole, concealing Sophia. She was hidden. Safe.

"Back at camp, she wouldn't come with me." Carl lied to keep her that way.

The lie echoed through the tunnel. Pressing herself against the wall, Sophia thought about coming out. But couldn't bring herself to do it.

"That's not what we were told."

The flashlight lifted off of him and he set a record on hiding the gun in the waistband at the back of his pants. The two men came down to him.

"You sure she ain't with you," the guy shone the light right into the little tunnel. Sophia pressed herself against the wall and held her breath as if that would make her invisible. Her heart hammering in her chest felt like it could give her away.

"She went back to our tent trailer because she didn't like the other one," Carl lied some more.

"For fuck's sake, did no one check that trailer?"

Carl didn't know how to answer that or if the man was looking for one.

"Well then, it looks like our job here is done." The guy grabbed him by the back of the shirt and pulled him away.

Carl couldn't explain why he thought that these guys were bad news and it would be best if they never got a hold of Sophia. Maybe it was a contagious thought from Daryl.

Sophia walked through the tunnel. On the other side, she raced along the ditch. She had an idea.

She got to the car first. Lifting the handle with the minimum amount of strength, Sophia opened the door. The door unexpected flipped up instead of out to the side like a normal ass door.

_Daryl would absolutely hate this car. _Sophia could perfectly picture him cursing it out in combinations swear words she had never heard before.

_Where the ever-loving hell did you run off to Daryl Dixon? And what crazy ass notion made you leave? _

The flashlight lapped up the windshield. Sophia curled up on the floor, avoiding its eye. She pulled the keys from the ignition. No chance they could take Carl anywhere if they couldn't get the car started. She stayed on the floor for a second before she opened the door, keeping a hold on the handle to only allow it to raise up higher enough for her to roll out.

Sophia tiptoed in a crouch around the car. Caught between the flare and her palm, the key's teeth pressed into her skin but she held on to both items like her life depended on it. The men's voices were coming closer. Sophia squatted by the bumper, preparing to run as fast as she should to the far side of the ditch.

Then she'd figure out how to save Carl.

The flashlight hit her after two long steps. Her first reaction was like Carl's; to shield her eyes and try and see through the blinding light.

Carl was shocked to see her standing there. So were the two guys as they stopped walking and chatting.

_How did she sneak over here? And why? _Carl thought, as time seemed to be frozen.

"Hey!" The raspy one yelled at her. His voice broke the freeze frame.

"Run Sophia!" Carl grabbed the flashlight out of his captor's hand and threw it as far as he could. The ball of light bounced on the ground about three times before it came to stop a few feet away.

"You fucking little punk." The man hit Carl round the head so hard that he saw stars.

"C'mon," the other one said starting after Sophia, slowly fading in to the blackness.

"Leave her!" Carl pulled the gun out and pointed it at the men.

The dull silver barrel quivered in hand. His finger sat like a bird on branch on the trigger. One of the men took a step toward him. He kept the gun up and got it a little steadier.

_I can do this. _

Carl thought about how he had stood up to Regan, who was bigger than either of these two. But that was with the crossbow.

What if there were walkers around? A gunshot could get him, and especially Sophia off God knew where, into a huge world of hurt.

Carl looked at the two man outlines over the gun. When Daryl was knocked unconscious, everything happened faster. He had too much time to think right now.

What if he killed another human being? Could he kill someone? He didn't want to but he had to protect Sophia right now.

The dilemma weighed on him so much that he wasn't able to move when one man lunged at him, slamming Carl in to the ground. The gun was yanked out of Carl's hand. He tried to scamper away but the man grabbed the right shoulder strap.

Then he was lifted right off his feet. Carl squirmed, twisted, and kicked for all he was worth but it didn't do any good. The man held him tighter and carried him over to the car.

"Pop the trunk." He said gruffly. It was the one with the raspy voice.

"What?" the other asked

"I got the feelin' he ain't gonna cooperate. We gotta get that girl before she gets to far. Probably will only get half the supplies if we bring back one kid."

Carl didn't know what that meant exactly but he really didn't like it and he contorted himself as much as possible and sunk his teeth through the skin on his handler's cheek. The man all but screamed in pain and let go of Carl.

The success was short lived. Carl got hit several times when the Raspy got a hold of him. He felt his bottom lip split open when one hit jarred him so much that he bit it.

"That's enough, just get him in," the other split them up, keeping a hold on Carl.

"Gimme the keys."

"I don't have them, why would I take them?"

They bickered about the keys. Carl put the mystery of why Sophia was by the car, and the missing keys together. He felt so proud of Sophia. She underestimated herself; she really was brave.

He was basically dragged to the back of the car. The stolen keys didn't stop them from opening the trunk. When Carl saw it spring open he fought harder but he was greatly out muscled and eventually he was dropped into the trunk. He tried to jump out. The other guy hovering over him pushed him back while Raspy pushed down the hatch.

"Jesus, watch my fingers."

The hatch came down on him with loud _click, _shutting him into complete blackness.

Carl continuously kicked the walls of the trunk and threw all his weight in to what he figured was the backseat to maybe push it back and get out.

Out of breath, Carl stopped. He looked out at absolutely nothing. He heard nothing except his heaving breath, and felt his bleeding, pulsing lip and the sting of tears in the corner of his eyes.

Sophia made it into the bushes, a densely packed clump of assorted ficus. Even though she felt she pushed herself as far back as she could. She tripped and let go of the possessions she was holding on.

The car keys didn't go far. She found them by her feet while she was brushing the dirt off herself. She couldn't see the red of the flare around, she couldn't see much of anything actually. While the bushes hid her, it kept the moonlight from finding her eyes.

The flare was the only thing close to protection she had. She took few steps, intensely scanning the ground. The flare had rolled into a crevice under a log or something. Sophia's hand had a hard time getting to it.

It was even harder to keep her hand in the cold space, when she kept thinking about something grabbing it.

With one hard frustrated tug she freed ninety percent of it. The cap got left behind.

The flare erupted into a burst of white-hot light. It blinded her temporarily, then she had huge spots in her eyes when she blinked. Sophia could see her surrounding now.

A forest made entirely out of everything but trees and their eerie shadows. It stretched out east and west for as far as she could, though that wasn't far. Behind her was a wall of dirt and rock.

Sophia wondered if she would be able to climb to the top if she ran into trouble, it was pretty steep.

She held her breath. Waiting for something to be awoken and attack her. She was just about to breath when she heard a trickling of rocks sliding down.

Something came crashing through the bush.

* * *

><p>"Caaarrrl!" Daryl yelled. "Sophia!"<p>

"Shut up," hissed one of Regan's friends.

"Sophia!" Daryl didn't care. "Carl!"

If there were any walkers out and about, he didn't care if they heard him if there was a chance that the kids would hear him too. So they would know that he was looking for them. That he hadn't completely abandoned them.

"Carl! Sophiaa!"

The guy jumped on top of him. Daryl fought back, popping him in the jaw so hard a tremor was sent shooting down his arm to his elbow. It felt good to hit something, so he kept up the fight.

Regan broke it up.

"Earn your meals for once and stay on task," he pushed his friend back. Then he rounded on Daryl. "And you shut your hole or you'll end up getting your guts torn out by corpses before you get to those kids. Then what'll happen to them?"

He had already imagined what would happen to Carl and Sophia if he was too late but he hadn't thought about what would happen to them if they were stranded out in the wilderness.

* * *

><p><em>Carl sat curled up in very sun faded red chair looking out the window at the gravel driveway. A hunting rifle that was double his arm's length propped up beside him. <em>

_Clunks and clangs of pots in the kitchen made the drafty farmhouse sound homey and he closed his eyes to try and imagine that he really was at home, also because he was quite tired. _

_Carl was fully asleep when Sophia came in with a half empty bowl of extremely diluted chicken soup that they had been stretching out over the last few days. It was their last can. _

_They were going to go to the next closest house, a daunting football field across from their house. But Sophia got the feeling that that wasn't going to happen. _

_She shook him awake. Carl looked at her through rheumy eyes. He ate a few spoonfuls of the watery meal than went back to sleep. It was the only time he didn't cough. _

_Carl had caught a bug. That's all it was. Sophia had reassured herself numerous times. _

_He'd bounce back in a couple of days. _

_Not a moment too soon though as the next time Sophia woke him up, his skin was very warm and clammy. He looked dazed too. That couldn't be a good sign. _

"_You need some rest, c'mon." _

_Sophia helped Carl to the bedroom in the back and tucked him into the bed. She knew she should be watching the road but she found herself invisible tied to Carl's side. What if he needed her?_

_The next day she ran over to the other house with a pillowcase. She filled it with several packets of noodles, some more soup and a can of an Alphagetti. Sophia held it in her hand longer than any other can, remembering the time her and Daryl spelled out their names. _

_She got mad and threw it across the room. Not having the luxury of time to waste or food, she retrieved the Alphagetti and rushed back to their house. Crying the whole way back. _

_Sophia went back to Carl who hadn't gotten out of bed. When he woke, she fed him as much as she could and got him to drink too. She patted his forehead with a damp cloth whenever he felt hot and she hummed to him whatever songs she could remember. _

_Sophia held Carl's hand until it went cold._

* * *

><p>A coyote howled a lonely song far away.<p>

Daryl wanted to scream in frustration, he also wanted sit down and give up, and he wanted to hyperventilate. What Daryl did do was keep going with a vengeance. He out-legged the others

"Where did the other guys go to look for them?" He rounded on Maple Ann, crossbow at her temple again. With a scope looking her in the face, she was a lot more truthful.

"Back the other way." She cringed and backed away but Daryl bridged the gap. "East. They we-went east. There are some rentable hunting cabins down on Township Road Two Thirty-Five. I thought that's where you were going to go next."

"It's like having two search parties," the man he had been fighting with tried to make him feel better.

"Were the others going to come back to the camp if they found them?" Daryl asked.

"No. We were going to meet up at the cabins," Maple Ann said. "Then leave to Salt Lake City."

Daryl believed her, and he believed what Sara had said about none of them suspected that Maple Ann would do this. This all lead to a coherent story; she didn't want anyone back at their camp to know about her child abduction hobby.

"Matthew 5:5. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Maple Ann recited. "Those kids need to be with a larger community so they can live up to their true potential. Children are humanities future more than ever now. It is the Lord's plan."

Prejudice images of a beaten Carl carrying as much wood as he could with Sophia lagging behind, holding her lower back as she waddled in a man's coat that she was swimming in.

"_Ya can't hit a girl," _Daryl's own words came back to bite him in the ass. It took every fiber in him to restrain from punching her at the very least.

"Alright, I think we've gone this way far enough, they must've went another direction." Regan called it. "Let's go back to that ridge we past and look from up there."

Regan really was a hunter to be thinking like that. Daryl's instinct had apparently taken a bit of a leave of absence. His senses were sharp as hell though. He heard every little foot step of theirs, every ruffle of leaves. A walker that seemingly grew out of the ground, barely got the chance to grunt before Daryl put it down.

He stewed in thoughts of walkers tearing Maple Ann apart. When they came to the steep bank of the small cliff.

The top of the rocky hill was deserted. Daryl didn't know why he expected different, like he was reach the top of it and find the kids up there playing bullshit.

_If anything has happened to Carl or Sophia, lady or not, I'll kill her. Slowly. _

They walked along the top. Daryl as close to the edge as he dared, it wouldn't be a fatal fall. It would hurt and the illuminated bushes that were clustered at the bottom wouldn't be pleasant to fall into.

"What the fuck?" Regan's friend blurted out. He pointed to the valley.

A red light burned in the brush below like the flaming bush Moses saw. The last time Daryl saw that sort of light, he was holding it to keep back a pack of recently turned feral dogs.

They had had two road flares in their backpack.

Daryl draped the crossbow across his back and crept down the hill in a low crouch. He lost his footing on a loose rock and crashed down into the brush.

Something living – or not – moved a little to his right, he reached for the crossbow. Before he could get it off his back, he heard a small whimper that he would know anywhere.

It was Sophia.

Even though his body desperately wanted to pull out the kinks from the tumble. Daryl stayed on his knees. He grabbed Sophia and held her as tight as he could. She was shivering and he realized it was because she was soaked through to the bone.

She looked completely dumbstruck. Sophia couldn't believe her eyes.

"Ya ok?" he asked.

Sophia nodded. Daryl looked around but they were the only two around.

"Where's Carl?"

Instead of answering, she ran, leading Daryl, right behind her all the way to the road and the ridiculous sports car.

"Carl!" Sophia yelled. There was still no one around. "He got taken by these two guys, I have the keys so they couldn't go anywhere. Carl!"

They kept up hollering his name until they ran out of breath. When they stopped yelling they heard a _thump, thump, thump, _from inside of the trunk. Sophia hit the trunk button on the remote and Carl popped out like a jack in the box.

Sophia hugged him. Daryl looked him over when he caught sight of blood. It was only his lip otherwise he was unscathed.

Regan had caught up with the rest of his crew. Judging from the apologetic looks of the men that were looking for Carl and Sophia. Regan had filled them in.

"I would really hurt you but I'm trying to be a better role model." Daryl hissed at Maple Ann in parting.

There was nothing to do about what they had gone through now. What's done was done. The important thing was that they were fine.

They didn't say anything to each other as they made their ways to hunting cabins. It was a walk that felt like it took forever. They ran up the front steps of the first cabin they came across, #4 was labeled on a dingy yellow sign.

Without saying much, they made sure it was uninhabited and barricaded the front door.

"Let's see if we can find you something dry," said Daryl.

He was avoiding the elephant in the room. Too bad it was way too large to way around.

"You left!"

Daryl was knocked to the ground. Sophia sat on top of him, pummeling his ribs with her fists. It was surprisingly a little painful.

"You left!"

She had said that once before. And he had told her the last thing they needed to worry about was him abandoning them.

When Sophia's strength evaporated, Carl pulled her off Daryl.

With the shock of the ordeal fully gone, Daryl felt so many things, way more feelings than he had ever felt at once in his life or believed that one person could feel.

He was relieved that they were okay but he couldn't help but also mad that they had put themselves in such danger, they could've been killed. That was the feeling what he responded with.

"I'm the one who should be knockin' yer heads together!" Daryl said, getting to his feet. "What were ya thinking? Going out in the middle of the night. For fuck's sake, y'know what's out there, right?"

Carl knew that it was a valid argument but that didn't mean that he had to forgive Daryl for what he had done.

"You were the one who ran out. We went out there to get you." Carl snapped.

"That doesn't matter. I'm an adult."

"Yeah it does matter," Sophia piped up tearfully. "Our parents are coming, you coulda got left behind."

Daryl's heart felt like it plummeted on to his stomach. They thought their families were coming for them but they still went out into the night to find him. They didn't know why he left without saying anything and they still wanted him back.

"They ain't coming. I'm sorry, you guys. But we were all lied to."

"How do you know that?" asked Carl.

"When I came back to the camp to find you guys were gone, I was told that your parents never got in touch with the camp." Daryl did the nutshell version.

"Why did you leave?"

"I was told that your parents were coming." Daryl began, the rest spilled out once

"I figured you two weren't gonna need me ta look after ya then so I left. See if I could find my brother."

Sophia slapped him.

"How could you?" she said weakly.

"I'm here now, aren't I?"

Apparently that wasn't enough, they both looked so hurt. He didn't blame them for that. Daryl knew what it was like to have someone close leave. It left an uneasy feeling in your stomach that wouldn't let you eat for days. It made you think horrible things of you being the reason that they left.

"Jesus, what do ya want me to say?" Daryl got flustered. He wanted to fix it so bad. "That I'm the biggest moron in the whole world, 'cause I am."

"Tell the truth." Carl stated. "If you made a mistake, say that. But if you were really just trying to get away from us because you never really cared, stop pretending that you do and say that."

Sophia looked at Carl like he had just kicked a puppy really hard. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear that truth. But it was too late for her to pretend different now. She

"Of course I care. It weren't coincidence that I just came back to check on you two. I hated being apart. I couldn't take it. So I turned around." Daryl's voice was cracking.

"That's I didn't tell you I was leaving. I know it was really douche bag thing to do, but I couldn't do it because it would hurt too much to say goodbye."

They were all tearing up now. Carl wiped at his eyes aggressively at any tears that formed. Oddly enough Daryl didn't have the strength to fight it.

"The truth is if I tried to say goodbye, I never would've left."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Happy Halloween.<p>

Thanks so much for your support through everything that has ever happened and your patience in the time it took for me to post this: _DarylDixon'sLover, Candra'wolfgal97, Unfeigned, Rebecca taylor, GemmaTellerSoa, Punkrockerbabe95, PalmtopTiger999, Yazzy x, sue92178, tracys dream, Emberka-2012, Peachuzoid, mks 12 98, listening2, BannanaFlvdSnow, Mione788, guest, I luv ewansmile, itsi3, CholeTeller2k11, TheDarkDreamerSmiles, lilhanna, Ryack, kdoggt, Susemi, h8erade, mh10anthony (3x), Eamon Drake, dasserk, Atsila, RonneeM, Chades (3x), Guest. _

I'm going to do NaNo in November (aka now) so I won't be updating. Yeah I know it's probably the last thing you want to hear from me since I haven't been here this month either, just know I tried but got a little busy unexpectedly and I was a super scatterbrained.

To make up for this hiatus, I plan on doing a kind of fan fiction appreciation month (which will be like NaNo only with works in process Walking Dead stories) in January. I will be back in December but with my tropical Christmas plans it wouldn't be a good month to do it. More details later if necessary later.


	30. Back To The Way They Used To Be

So there they were. All of them crying and hugging each other. They stayed that way until Carl's arm, Sophia's neck and Daryl's knees all got sore from the awkward positions they had held themselves.

Carl was the first to pull out of it. Daryl would've been a closer second if Sophia hadn't been holding him so tightly. He didn't try to break away so her fingertips pressing hard into the cords in the hollow of his shoulder were unnecessary. After what he had done, Sophia could hug him as long as she needed to.

Thankfully that wasn't all night and she let him go eventually, leaving a cold damp spot on his shirt.

"Are we all done cryin'?" Daryl asked them.

"I'm ok." Sophia nodded.

"You good?" Carl asked rubbing away a few rogue tears.

"Yeah as long as yer both done, I should be alright."

It was funny to think that they were the thing that could make Daryl Dixon cry. Again.

"Sophia, why ya all wet?" Daryl went back to the pressing matter he had tried to use to avoid this mess.

"I fell in a creek."

Sophia's mind had forgotten that her body was soaked and therefore very cold. She had been shivering the whole time but knowing she was now made her teeth chatter as well.

"We'll see if there is anything dry for you in here, and we'll try and start a fire."

There was a fireplace, portrayed by the flashlight as a gaping black hole with an arch of stones so hopefully there was some wood outside.

They went through one dark doorway. It was a bathroom straight out of a horror flick, all grungy and stained. They went through doorway number two. It was a bedroom with an double bed. Folded on it was one of those knitted blankets that look like it came from Mexico and one of those super soft tacky ones that you buy from vans beside highways that either had wolves, eagles or Harley Davidson logo or motorcycles on it.

"I had two of these," Daryl confessed picking it up and stretching it out so that the artwork of it would be displayed.

On the blanket there was bald eagle descending down on to a motorcycle like it would a salmon so essentially it looked like the eagle was riding the motorcycle. As if that wasn't enough 'FREEDOM' ran across the top.

"This is nicer than mine were. But they were covered in layer of cat hair."

"You had a cat?" asked Sophia

Daryl didn't strike her as the type to own a cat.

"Yeah, Mo. She had the diabeetus. Y'know if it's possible, I'm going to bring this back with us and hang it up in my tent."

They went over to the closet. Daryl pulled out a large red-checkered long sleeve men's shirt and handed it over to Sophia. She held the hanger at arms length and stroked the flannel sleeve.

"I always wanted to be a lumberjack," Sophia said thoughtfully.

"Sorry, lemme see if there are any ball gowns in here." Daryl poked around the closet. "Nope."

Sophia pulled the lumberjack shirt on over her clothes before Daryl and Carl moved out of the room to give her some privacy. With all the room she had in the shirt, Sophia pulled off her wet shirt over her head and then she got her pants off from underneath the large shirt that went down to just past her knees.

She twirled around in it.

"How do I look?" she asked playfully.

The image of her in the giant grey coat from his wakening nightmare before came back to him. Daryl petted Sophia's arm to assure him that she was right here, out their hands and in his. Safe.

Sophia shook the overly long sleeve down and put her hand on Daryl's arm.

"I'm not crying so don't you start or I'll gonna start," said Sophia.

Daryl nodded in response and swallowed the lump in his throat.

The absence of the other voice box in the room made him look over to the person who should've said something. Carl was leaning against the wall making a thick line in the dust coating on the floor by dragging his toe back and forth. It reminded Daryl of a nervous horse pawing the ground.

There was something wrong with him. That wasn't Daryl's imagination. He knew the boy well enough to know that when he was being that quiet with that look of troubling brewing.

Daryl also knew how Carl liked to keep up appearances and that the greatest chance of getting him to talk would be to get him by himself.

Instead of going back in to the living room, Daryl went into the adjoining kitchen. Carl and Sophia followed after him like ducklings.

"Let's take a gander in the yard and see if there is a wood pile. Sophia, you got bare legs stay in here. Alright?"

She really didn't want to stay inside by herself. There were no walkers but it had the air of something being dead inside it. On second thought when they cracked the door open, going out into the cold night air again was worse than being left alone in the probable haunted house.

Daryl shone the flashlight through the windowpane on the back door. Nothing was attracted it. Not that he was complaining but it had been so long that he'd come across a walker, he was almost becoming paranoid that all the walkers were hold up together, waiting to ambush them. Which he knew was impossible.

"Ready for this, buddy?" Daryl asked Carl with a hand on the doorknob.

_Probably not, _Carl thought.

Regardless of that thought, he nodded his head. Daryl opened the door slowly. He went out first, and motioned that it was safe. Carl was hesitant but went out. Sophia shut the door gently behind him.

A whole woodshed loaded with split and un-split logs greeted them from down the yard. They stalked across the grass. Daryl picked up a split log and inspected it. He threw it behind him. Carl tossed one beside it after inspecting three others.

Since Carl appeared to be doing better on his half of the log pile than Daryl was on his half. He began to hack off thin branches from the tree beside it to use for fire starter.

Daryl didn't say anything, hoping that Carl would just spring it on him like the boner convo. No such luck.

"So what's going on with you?" Daryl asked.

"Nothin'."

"Yeah that sounds like nothing." Daryl said sarcastically.

_That's not going to help. Jackass. _Daryl chided his primary response.

Carl tapped on one log to see if it was rotten inside. It wasn't and it wasn't super thick so he tossed it into the pile.

"You'll feel better if you talk 'bout it," Daryl had only been told that once in his life by his third grade teacher. Carl was as much of a nonbeliever as he had been when he heard it.

Carl didn't want to bring up everything that had happened come of late when he was putting so much energy in trying to push it down. It's not like it matter. So what if he wasn't able to - nope not going to think about it.

He rapped on another log harder than necessary. The rough exterior scrapped away the first layer of his skin. It stung a little.

"Is it about what happened back there with those guys?" Daryl's question hit it's target like one of his bolts in anything he took aim at. Carl tellingly took a quick glance at him and then went back to picking out logs.

"Jeez, kid. Don't beat yourself up about it that. You were out numbered. Sometimes we get into things we can't get out of. I should've been-"

"But you weren't! I had to keep us safe and I couldn't do it." Carl "I couldn't. When we were looking for you, Sophia got really upset and started crying. Course. And I-I was soo scared too…" Carl didn't want to admit more than that but he had got the ball rolling. "I wanted to go back."

Daryl crossed his arms and leaned back against the woodpile. Carl was looking at him for some other answer, some secret on how to shut off his fear.

"Y'know being around you and Sophia has made me realize how fast I grew up. I couldn't help some of it but I know there were times that I forced to be older and I regret that now," said Daryl slowly. "You an' Sophia are gonna go through a lot a shit that's going to age ya fast so don't push too hard to, 'kay? It's like a dam. You start cracking that wall and it's gonna burst and you'll never get back to the way you were."

Carl reflected on the maturity lesson, rolled it around in his mind. He understood it but knew that in a few years it would mean even more to him.

"When you get to be a kid, please be a kid." Daryl's voice was weighted with desperation.

"Do you want me to promise?" asked Carl.

"Yeah I do."

In the beginning of their journey, Daryl had just wanted to give them the necessities for life; food, (healthy food), water, shelter, and not let them get eaten by geeks. Obviously he still wanted those things for them but he wanted so much more for them now.

"Hey Carl, you wanna know what I did after I took out my first walker?"

Carl shrugged. On his face curiosity shone in the moonlight.

"I threw up straight dill pickle chips. Don't think I'll ever be able to eat 'em again in my life."

"Hey, Daryl."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

They each picked out four good logs each and each took a bushel of twigs. Carl's arms felt like they were going to snap off. It wasn't far to the door though. Or at least it felt like it when he looked at it. It felt farther as he was walking back to it.

"I made us something to eat," Sophia held out a plate of stone wheat thin crackers sandwiched together with liquefied cheese right as they walked in.

But there was no time to dine with such a heavy load. The true lumberjacks walked past her to the living room and dropped their loads off in front of the fireplace. Sophia came in with own little contribution.

"Cracker?' She held out the plate again for Carl.

Carl took one and took a small bite out of the corner as he was hesitant about what the cracker and the cheese would taste like together. It wasn't the best. The cheese was runny and had a weird after taste. But after the hot sauce shot, it wasn't the worst. Sophia held the plate out to Daryl. He was busy pulling out the remnants of half burned logs and sweeping out the bottom of the chocked full of ash fireplace with his bare hands.

"Daryl, have a cracker," insisted Sophia.

"Hold on." Daryl didn't even turn his eyes from the fireplace.

"Pretty please."

Daryl looked at Sophia's big begging eyes and to his charcoal coated black hands. He opened his mouth, Sophia happily handfed him a cracker.

They should've been suspicious about her insistence. Both of them bit into the middle at around the same time to a foul taste underneath the processed cheese that was un-describable for the first instant. Then it came to them, it was fishy taste. Pickled herring to be exact. It was so slippery that it went down their throats before they could stop it, making them both gag.

"That's for the time that you put a walker in front of the door at the playground." Sophia explained why they were tasting revenge on their tongues.

"You done started somethin' now, chiquita. Ain't that right, Carl?" Daryl wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Carl growled something in agreement than spit on to the floor.

Daryl put two fresh logs in their new brick nest. He reached for the lighter in his pocket but than had a better idea.

"Gather round children." He ordered.

Carl and Sophia scooted over on their knees. Daryl was going to show them how to make a fire with nothing but what nature provided.

"First you have to make a notch in the chunk you're using as a base." Daryl tore a strip of bark off one of the logs. "Something like this. Then you put a dent in it, you can use a sharp rock and dig at it but I have a knife so I'm going to use it. We should find you two some pocket knives."

He carved out a little hole in the bark.

"Next you get a good stick. And you put it in your notch."

Sophia started giggling.

"What?"

"Notch sounds like crotch."

Carl gave a bark of a laugh that was succeeded by a string of quieter laughs along with Sophia. Daryl wanted to do a face palm with the log.

"Get your minds outta the gutter." Daryl instructed. "Next you put the stick in the hole."

"I thought it was a notch," Carl sputtered between him and Sophia's laughs.

"Not anymore. You spin it quickly between your hands and move them down the stick."

Daryl spun the stick a few times in demonstration until a wisp of smoke rose from then turned them loose. Sophia picked out a good base of bark, Carl's was little thick but had a lot of moss on it so would work. After they each picked out a stick Daryl handed Carl his knife.

"We have to make our own notches?" Sophia said.

"No more saying notch 'cause it's going to make you laugh and cut yourselves."

Carl stabbed the bark a few times then dug at the nicks he made until a hunk of it had been scrapped away and he passed the knife to Sophia.

The handle reminded her of when she held it for the first time when Regan's friend knocked out Daryl and how she cut Allen's arm with it because she thought she had to defend him. It was daunting to hold it again knowing how sharp it was, Sophia was carefully with her scrapping but it also made her determined. Sophia was stronger than she knew and now she was going to make a fire.

Making a fire this way was way harder than Daryl made it look. After a hundred odd stick rubs with nothing to show for it, Carl got frustrated and his hand movements became sloppy. Sophia just got less determined in the idea of her making a fire.

"Ugh, my stick is sticky," whined Sophia.

"Tha' fuck?" Daryl said.

"There's sap on it or something."

Sophia flexed her fingers on both hands with an unpleasant look on her face like she smelled something gross. Daryl was unsympathetic.

"Sophia, what will you do if you have to make a fire?" he asked.

"I'll ask someone to do it."

"What if you're by yerself?"

"Then I have bigger problems than starting a fire."

Daryl tossed her another stick that was not sticky.

"I'm gonna get a splinter."

"I can deal with that. Remember the bee stinger."

"Are you seriously bragging about that?"

Smoke rose up from the bark then a tiny flame flowered out of the wood on Carl's base. He watched it blacken the bark in shock.

"Now what?" Carl exclaimed in alarm.

"You got to get it into the fireplace." Daryl stated the obvious.

Carl slid it on the floor towards the floor. The wind from the movement nearly killed the premature flame. Sophia abandoned her endeavor for fire to come to Carl's side.

"Watch it, Sophiasaurus Rex." Carl protectively shielded the lick of fire from her hurricane motions.

The little flame began to die before their eyes. Carl very, very gently started to blow on it.

"It's not a birthday candle," Sophia panicked.

But it gusted up from his breath. Sophia put a stick into the little flame until it started on the end. She carried her torch to the fireplace and rested it on the top of a log in the fireplace. Carl copied her action.

The flames they placed on the logs didn't stay long, burning out before they got a change to leave ash. The kids didn't give up and continued to try and bring the fire to the fireplace. This led to the two of them goofing off and literally playing with fire.

"Quick, we need more fire over here." Sophia pointed at a brown burnt spot.

"Here's your fire delievery, ma'am." Carl placed his next torch next to it.

"You two are gonna freeze tonight." Daryl spoke up.

At first they were fun to watch, now he was starting feel guilty for thinking that they were morons. He was more determined to see them succeed than to help them even if it did mean that he wouldn't have a fire tonight.

Carl watched over the home base fire. It was starting to outgrow its home on the bark. Daryl was unconcerned that they were going to burn down their shelter.

Sophia moved the cold logs in the fireplace to rest on each other on more of a angle.

"Put it here." She gestured to the opening at the bottom she made.

Carl slowly moved the fire into the opening. It threatened to die this time but nothing more happened either.

"Blow on it some more," Sophia said softly as if she was afraid she'd scare the fire away when they were so close.

Carl did. The flame grew up and licked the bottom of the logs. Thin ribs of dancing orange started on the bottom of one. They spread and kept on spreading until it became a fire. They did it!

In the middle of their high fiving they heard a _grrrl. _They froze and exchanged glances.

"Was that your stomach or mine?" asked Sophia.

_Grrrl. Ruurr. _Carl definitely felt his stomach rumble.

"Hey. We still have the cakesters," said Carl.

He went and got the backpack from the far wall and opened it up. His hand reached down to the bottom until he felt a semi-squishy foil package.

They had been carting those snacks around for forever like they had been waiting for a special occasion to eat them. Successfully starting their first fire seemed like a good reason to delve in.

He pulled one cakester out and gave it to Sophia. He picked out another one that was even more squished down. He reached inside once more and gave one to Daryl. They tore into the blue foil with their teeth, paying close attention to Daryl as he ripped his open.

They had told him a long time ago that cakesters were just giant oreo cookies. It looked more like someone had taken a bicycle pump to an oreo and blew it up. But it was definitely not full of air.

"That's really sweet." Daryl's verdict was after his first bite.

It was all thick chocolate-y dough and icing. He took another bite without knowing why he did.

"Uck, it's gonna give me a headache."

They noshed on their sugary snacks and watched the fire. Sophia set her wet clothes out in front of it. Her pants started to steam a bit.

"When you said I had bare legs, you meant my legs were naked right?" Sophia broke the silence with an odd question.

"Yeah, what else would I mean? That you have the legs of a bear?"

The look on Sophia's face said yes.

"At my school we have to change for gym and we had to wear shorts and like every other girl in my class was allowed to shave their legs but my mom didn't let me 'cause she said I was too young and that I'd regret it because the hair would grow back dark and thick and then I'd have to shave them all the time and I'm like 'Mom, that's what I'd like to do now'."

Neither of the boys knew what to do with this information so they sat in a weird silence with weird expressions.

"Soph, you've been wearing clam diggers this whole time and I never once thought that 'Boy, that girl's got hairy legs' and I'd notice too. Once a woman got married in East Jesus Nowhere, she'd get pretty lax 'bout shaving. You wouldn't believe the hair I've seen on the womenfolk."

They watched the flames spread silently. It was doing much better than the conversation, which had fizzled out again. And like if the fire had died, the silence left a cold atmosphere.

"We could play truth or dare," suggested Sophia.

She really wanted to get them talking and dare she hope for too much but laughing as well. For once it seemed that it was her job to look after them. She wasn't convinced that they had recovered from their cry fest.

Carl figured they may as well and Daryl agreed but griped that he wasn't at slumber party for the kids' amusement.

"Truth," Carl picked over having to eat another one of Sophia's special cracker sandwiches.

"Why did you have a crush on that girl you were telling me before?" Sophia faked not knowing her name. It was actually burned her in her mind. _Jenna. _

"I dunno. She was pretty and funny. Her older sister had the coolest car too."

Sophia was going to ask if that _even _mattered but when Daryl clapped him on the shoulder and said "Nice". She figured that it mattered in a way she wouldn't understand. The answer satisfied her and she didn't press him further.

"Daryl, truth or dare?" Carl asked.

"Dare." He didn't what to divulge anything.

"I dare you to the penis game."

"How is that a dare?"

"Do you want to do it?"

Daryl squinted at Carl and shook his head.

"Then it's a dare. Penis," started Carl.

"Penis," Daryl reiterated quietly.

"Peeeenis."

"Penis." Daryl said perhaps even quieter than before.

"PeNIS!"

Sophia was nearly unable to breathe she was laughing so hard.

"You win." Daryl surrendered.

"Carl, truth or dare." Daryl was going to get some revenge.

"Truth."

Daryl was at a loss at first what to ask. Then he remembered how he wished to know everything about these two when they were apart.

"Where would you go if you could go anywhere?"

"I'd go to Alaska. I want to see what a polar bear. Killer whales are also around the coast at one point in the year." Carl answered. "Sophia, truth or dare."

"Truth."

Carl blanked.

"I got one." Daryl spoke up. "Pardon the sexism, my dear. Do ya know what your wedding would look like?"

Sophia cocked her head in confusion. Daryl didn't give anything more.

"Well when I was little kid I did like thinking about what my wedding would be like."

"And?" Daryl pried.

"Well I was big into princesses at the time so I thought it'd be like fairytale. I'd have a dress that would be really poofy at the bottom with a bright pink sash with a bow and a long veil. The aisle would be lined with giant roses."

"What about the song when you walk down the aisle to?"

"Did you fall on your head while you were outside getting wood?" Sophia asked.

"I can't think of any but I think I'd go with _Forever And For Always _for my first dance."

"Who were you going to marry?" asked Carl.

"When I was four I was going to marry Big Bird." Sophia stated. "Carl, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Sing a song."

Carl knew he should've just gone with truth.

_It's just Daryl and Sophia. _Carl consoled himself.

"I'm a little tea-"

"If you're going to do that song you have to do the actions," demanded Sophia.

Carl was not going to do the actions so he changed his tune. "You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are grey. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. So please don't take my sunshine away."

The little ditty faded away without the laughter and teasing that he thought would sure follow his tone-deaf version. Carl's two companions looked forlorn. Maybe

"Sophia?"

"Daar- Truth." Sophia chickened out to Carl's displeasure.

"Would you rather eat a big booger or a toe nail clipping?"

"You're gross."

"That doesn't answer the question."

"A booger then," Sophia answered.

"Have you ever eaten a booger before?"

"How dare you, Carl Grimes. I'm a lady," said Sophia. "Daryl. Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." He'd be damned if he was going to chicken out a second time.

"I dare you to lick your toe."

"Is that all ya got?"

Daryl untied his boot and pulled off his sock. The wonderful foot aroma emanating from his sock gave a hint of what was in store. The hardest part was trying to get his toe to his mouth. He got it there by nearly snapping his hamstring, quickly he licked the top of his big toe. It tasted how his sock smelled.

"Tastes better than your cooking." Daryl pointedly looked at the crackers. "Sophia, truth or dare."

"Truth."

Daryl was hoping she'd say that.

"What's your middle last name?"

"Peletier." She answered grudgingly.

"Ha. I knew it started with a P."

They played for what felt like a short time but the fire's strength begged to differ. Being that it was their baby, Daryl made Sophia and Carl stoke it up. They almost smothered it with a log that was too big but with Sophia's supervising and Carl's doing, they managed to save it.

They began to look a little sleepy in the glowing firelight.

"We got one more job to do." Daryl said before they fell asleep on the floor.

They went back into the bedroom and pulled the mattress from off the box spring. Carl and Sophia each took a corner while Daryl carried the other half. They set it down close enough to the fire that they would keep warm but far enough that there was a low risk of getting hit by a spark.

They made up a nest on the mattress. Carl got the Harley enthusiast eagle to himself since Sophia was going to be more than close enough to Daryl for them to share a blanket.

"Anyone know any scary stories?" Carl asked.

"Have you ever heard the one about the faceless old women who secretly lives in your home?"

"No."

"Well she does. And she changes all the books. Not the covers just the pages" Sophia yawned. Before she fell a sleep she was able to mumble. "And she'll set your fridge on fire."

Not knowing how late it was Daryl and Carl tried to force themselves to join Sophia in dreamland.

"Hey Daryl, you still awake?" Carl asked.

Daryl laughed his answer.

"Have you seen King Kong?" Carl asked.

"I've seen both. I liked the ancient one more because it was shorter."

"I've only seen the newer one. I was obsessed with gorillas after it. There was also this other movie called Mighty Joe Young that I saw on Family channel one night."

Daryl was having a hard time making sense of Carl's talk to lowland gorillas. The warmth and softness of their bed added weight to his eyelids. Daryl may have gone to sleep for a while. When he felt a pinching of the tendons in his arm where Sophia had been sleeping. He could see her sit up, the static from her flannel shirt spark white lightening on their blanket. Daryl almost pretended to be a sleep but wouldn't feel right about it. Sophia usually started crying when she wasn't talked to.

"You forgot to tell us a story." Sophia yawned.

She was too sleepy to remember her own very short story apparently. Daryl was tired too so he would also be brief.

"Ok, I'll tell you about the time I saw a angel."

"I was sleeping, and I felt this tickling on my back. I freaked out and y'know stabbed it 'cause that's how men deal with their problems. But the knife didn't go through it.

Sitting beside me on the bed in a whole mess of feathers was a little angel. Looked like the glass figurines you see in store windows."

"That was me. I forgave you already," groaned Sophia.

"You don't believe me. How did I get this if I'm lying?" Daryl pulled his buck knife off his belt. He unsheathed the knife and shook the empty sheath like he was trying to get ketchup out of the bottle.

A downy white feather drifted out. Daryl picked it up and held it in front of her nose. Sophia went to grab it but Daryl pulled it away.

"Hey, git your own. This is my angel feather." Daryl tucked the feather back in to its original place in his sheath.

"I need it because it reminds me to be good."

Sophia resettled her head on his shoulder and kissed up near his eye.

"Oh Dumbo, you don't really need a feather to be good."

* * *

><p>Rick stretched the kinks out of his shoulders and his neck. Too many nights on the hard cot had gotten to his muscles but the physical pain hardly panged him anymore.<p>

They had stayed longer than normal at this pit stop to rest the RV's radiator hose or see if they could find a new one. They weren't too far from a small town. Glenn, T-Dog, and others went scavenging. No one asked him, Lori or Shane for anything and asked if they needed anything fifteen times a day each.

Carol was faring the best out of the three of them. No one asked anything of her either of course but she was always doing little chores around camp. She kept everyone fed with whatever was brought to her. Rick knew it was her own way of grieving for her daughter.

Shane was mourning in his own way too. Staying distant. Rick wished that he had the strength to pull him in but he didn't. Rick barely had the motivation to pull his shoes on this late morning and nearly went bare foot across the camp.

"Mornin' Dale." Rick greeted Dale who was standing in the doorway on the Winnibago.

Dale didn't return the greeting. He was staring at something with a very perturbed look. Rick followed his gaze. His heart stopped.

Daryl Dixon, a man that they presumed dead, was sitting by the scorched hole in the earth where they had a fire the past night. He was sharpening his knife on a stone. Andrea and Shane froze like startled rabbits from the other side of the fire pit. Glenn walked past him on the way to fill a water bottle and did a double take. One by one, everyone else noticed Daryl sitting there.

They all stared at him. Daryl eventually looked up and exchanged glances with the group.

"What?" Daryl growled as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about his presence.

They had held out hope that Carl and Sophia had found him and he had looked after them. That once extinguished hope flared up like a forest fire in the middle of an Indian summer. Even though Rick didn't see them.

"Where..." It was Lori who made the first attempt at asking but couldn't get the rest of words out.

Slowly Daryl smiled. He nodded behind them. They were all to stunned to know how to follow that direction. Rolling his eyes, but still smiling, Daryl pointed behind them.

"Turn around."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: What?<p>

Here is where I might tell you where I was or some crazy story about how I got stranded on desert island which obviously wouldn't have wifi. But there is no good reason for the Great Hiatus and I'm not going to kick myself for it because it's in the past like a mysterious glow cloud that comes and drops a bunch of dead animals on your community. It seems really big at the time but then the glow cloud moves on and we'll move on. (There was a Night Vale ref and a ref to the comic in this chapter)

I missed you all so much and hope you'll forgive me: _DarylDixon'sLover, Punkrockerbabe95, sue92178,I luv ewansmile, mks 12 98, Rebecca taylor, Emberka-2012, itsi3, Kountry101, Yazzy x, CastielDeservesAnImpala, dasserk, Cyndapants, Candra 'wolfgal97, Nerdgrl1 (2x), JaiDiePie, sonshinedaisy, Guest 1, Guest 2, h8erade, TheDarkDreamerSmiles, The Dancing Bear, GemmaTellarSoa, kdoggt. MollyMayhem84, Biffel, justagurlwithaloveoffanfiction, bearsrawesome, Cindy, Anon here (2x), Guest, ness-carlie-black, DancingInTheDark85. Little Karma, SeverusSnape'sLove,Tess, Sean. _

Stay tuned for the next four months to see how they got there. Kidding. Too soon?

(Apparently a little rusty at updating and forgot to add the lines)


	31. Back Where I Belong

Remember, remember the seventeenth of September.

Thank you for reading and for all the support. I've been trapped in a GLASS CASE OF EMOTION; MollyMayhem84, itsi3, Rika24, Rebecca taylor, Unfeigned, twin1, DarylDixon'sLover, bearsrawsome, Mione788, Emberka-2012, Magic'sKey, CastielDeservesImpala, Cindy, Guest, Yazzy x, scarfire14, SeverusSnapes'sLover, mks 12 98, I luv ewansmile, Fangirl44, tracys dream, guiltypleasure211, Little Karma, Kountry101, Anonymous (3x), TheDarkDreamerSmiles, General KJ, HeatherFeather99, Soaring Hawk1, galimeril, Guest that was wrong, Amberlyn, Toolulla (2x), Sonic Serendipity, Chelia24, MagickalEveningStar1, IshipCarphia, Robotic Worm, XxBlazestormxX, The Third Biker Scholar, katsruaaagi, Guest that was right, and Fanosiro.

* * *

><p><em>Burrr-R-r-r-r-a-a-a-a-p-p. Burrr-R-r-r-r-r-r-a-a-a-a-p-p-p. <em>

A woodpecker's work intruded on the silent sanctuary of the cabin. The sunrise crept over the window ledge. It was morning all ready. The night had gone by quickly. For once.

Daryl sat up in the golden dust of the sunbeam. His back was weirdly sore when he stretched to undo the stiffness and kinks in his shoulders.

His companions were still trying to hang on to the night. Sophia had curled up into a ball, the tip of her nose beneath the blanket. Carl had turned his head into the pillow so much that he was nearly face down. His eyelids were scrunched up so much that they had the same texture as raisin.

Maybe he was turning into a raisin child because he didn't wake up to get a drink last night, Daryl remembered his thought on that very first night when he didn't know anything about caring for kids.

_Burrr-R-r-r-r-r-a-p-p. _

"Go shoot it," grumbled Sophia.

Daryl got out of bed. Due to the fact that the mattress was on the floor, getting out of bed was a crawling motion. It made his sore muscle throb a bit more. He probably had some bruises from falling down that embankment the other night.

Too awake to go back to sleep even though fatigue was still heavy on their eyes. Carl was staring up at ceiling with a deep look of concentration shading his eyes.

"What are you thinking?" Sophia asked.

"That this feels weird…like that's always just been the three of us. Our parents and everyone else were around a long time ago."

She was surprised to realize that she no longer knew how many days she had been separated from her mom. Carl was right. Waking up in this little cabin didn't have the same strange unfamiliar sensation that waking up in Ikea had. It did feel like it had always been this way.

In the quiet atmosphere they heard the very soft _tunk _of the crossbow being unloaded. They unnecessarily craned to their ears to hear for the woodpecker. It didn't make a single rap then the door open again.

"Come out and get some breakfast." Daryl hollered.

"I was kidding!" Sophia yelled back but didn't get an answer back.

"Maybe woodpeckers taste like chicken." Carl shrugged.

He threw the fleece white trash throw off and got out of bed. Sophia did as well. She gathered up her clothes splayed out in front of the fireplace.

Her clothes were mostly dry. There were a few damp spot along the hem of her shirt and behind the knees of her capris. Her shoes, which had been soaked before she had fallen in the creek, were in the worst shape. The walls of them were very hard. She did not look forward to having to walk in them. Hopefully she could find some shoes her size before these ones crumbled right off her feet.

They walked out the back door. It smelled like it had rained a few hours ago and the air was a little chill and damp. The sun went behind one of the dispersed clouds and it got Daryl was kneeling down by the fire pit, wisps of flames licked over the metal rim. When they came closer to the pit, they saw their breakfast.

On the top of a grate grill were a pair big flat rocks and frying on top of those rocks were three eggs. The beads of sweat on the congealed white seemed to make the eggs sparkle when the sun shone through the cloud. Daryl was sure that someone – probably Sophia – was going to remark on his cookware Carl and Sophia's pupils had gone as big as eggs as they watched them sizzle. Their stomach's growled

It had been a long time since they had eggs.

"It won't be as good as bacon but it'll give ya some protein." Daryl said as he picked up the second dish of their meal, a fairly big jackrabbit that he caught dozing.

"I love rabbit!" Sophia exclaimed to both their surprise. "Back at camp I was always hoping that you'd come back with rabbit. I'll go find some plates."

Sophia ran back in to the cabin. Daryl was even more proud of his nutritious breakfast now.

"Wait!" Carl stopped Daryl as he was about to skin the rabbit. "We should take it's feet too, y'know for luck."

They could use some luck. So before he skinned the rabbit and placed it over the flames, Daryl hacked off all four feet. He gave Carl his lighter to cauterize them so they wouldn't get blood over them.

Sophia came out with a stack of plates, utensils and even a pair of tongs. When she saw what Carl was doing, she gave him a very puzzled look.

"Lucky rabbit's feet." He handed her one of the finished ones.

"Oh, that's smart." Sophia said.

She put the plates and stuff down and studied it. It was neat to see the webbing between it's little toes and the little claws.

Daryl used the tongs to pry their hot breakfast off when the yolks of the eggs were slightly cloudy and the rabbit had changed from pink to a golden and burnt color.

"Where did the eggs come from?" Carl asked.

"Out of a grouse. They nest at the base of trees. Got more where that came from if we can figure out how to pack 'em so they won't break."

They sat around the fire with their plates in their laps. From out of his pockets, Carl pulled out the ketchup packets that he had hoarded from the condiment back at that twisted camp. They all tore off the corners of the packets in near unison and spread it on the black and orange meat.

"If only you grabbed some hot sauce too," said Daryl.

Carl moaned and shook his head.

"Hey, we need to say grace." Sophia interjected as they were about to dig in. She smiled at Carl.

If it felt like they had always been together, they should do the things they use to.

"Dear lord baby Jesus," Carl started. Daryl snickered after he got over the surprise. "Thank you for making that rabbit slow and that pheasant or whatever it was lay all it's eggs on the ground. Thank you for the shelter and the bedding as well, you didn't have to go through all that trouble we would've been fine with just the four walls. But Lord baby Jesus, we would like to ask that the next lodgings we have maybe include some way to watch movies and the TV show; The Littlest Hobo and a hot tub too. We thank you, Lord baby Jesus –"

Sophia looked over at Carl. There was an impish smile on his face.

" – for the protection from the walkers and gingivitis."

"Amen!" Daryl and Sophia shouted at the same time.

They were quiet as they ate, the kid's mouths were always too full to get any words out. The eggs had a bit of an after taste but that could've been from the ketchup. The rabbit was pretty bland but still good.

"Pretty good game trail in those trees." Daryl pointed over their heads to the treeline as they were scrapping up the last morsels of food off their plates. "I think we should head through it for a bit, y'know avoid the jam up that'll be at the front entrance to this place."

The truth was Daryl had an uneasy feeling that they shouldn't be on the road even though that was where any supplies would be. They had had good luck at the start of their journey in the places they stayed overnight without He didn't get strong gut feelings like this one often so when he did, he listened.

They set off into the woods, leaving behind three plates with bits of rabbit carcass for a passing coyote and the events of the past night in the cabin. The forest was quiet except for the birds chirping. Despite this tranquility, Daryl still felt tense. As if something was going to pop out

"This reminds me of a little hike me and my mom would go on in the summer."

"Sssshh." Carl said

"What is it?" Daryl froze, thinking Carl had seen something.

"No Sophia ssssh, you're going to scare off the game."

"What game? Like the quiet game."

"No like deer, dummy."

Daryl didn't really think of this as a hunting excursion. But he had promised Carl that he would take him out sometime. As they walked along, he started pointing out tracks. Except for the human ones that were too straight to be a walkers bumbling.

"Carl, psst," Daryl knelt down near a little bog and waved him over.

He dipped his hand into the cool mud at the edge of the still algae color water and retracted it once a grayish paste coated his palm. Daryl smeared it on his face.

"Camouflage." He explained.

Carl grinned and did the same.

"_You ever take your daughter out huntin'?" _Regan's question popped into his mind.

_No. For good reason. _Daryl would answer if asked right now.

Besides the little yipping at the horse flies, which had gotten bad, the Sophiasaurus Rex sounded like a little moose coming up behind them.

"Pick up yer feet, girly." Daryl called back to her.

Every time he looked back to check on her, she was farther and farther away.

"My feet hurt."

"Good Lord, it's only the beginning of the day. You're tougher than that," Daryl shook his head.

"My shoes aren't. They got wrecked from getting soaked last night."

"Well we'll see if we can get you new ones but we got to go for a little longer before we take a break."

Sophia didn't complain again. She didn't really know why she didn't. The back of her right foot getting sorer with every step even though she tried walk in a way that it wouldn't rub the back of her shoe. Maybe she was trying to be tougher. After all she had started a fire last night. Or it was because it was obvious there was nowhere to get new shoes right now so complaining would only make Daryl and Carl get impatient with her.

"Stupid boys." She grumbled as she struggled to keep up.

When it was finally time for a break after what felt like walking the Great Wall of Chine, she wasted no time sitting right down on the ground. She pulled off her right shoe and Daryl felt like a huge douche. Blood had climbed up to the top of her sock from her heel.

"Ugh, I got a blister."

Daryl cut her holey, bloody sock into strips and tied it around her ankle like tensor bandage. It would protect her

"I'll piggy back you for a bit," he offered

His achy back definitely didn't like it. Progress was a little slower. The girl was heavier than she looked but Sophia had been trying to tell him that her feet hurt.

"Remember the days you use to be afraid of me?" Daryl asked huffing as they started to go up a slight incline.

"Yeah."

"I miss those days sometimes."

Something popped out at them in the not to far distance.

Carl saw it first. He stopped dead in his tracks. Then Sophia and Daryl saw it. In shock, Sophia hopped off his back. Through the brush they could see the beige-y golden hide of a Winnebago. They inched to the edge of the woods. They saw familiar tents and vehicles. Daryl's truck with Merle's motorcycle was among them surprisingly.

They had found them when they hadn't been looking per say. If they had chose to take the road more traveled, they could've missed them. Maybe it was the rabbit's feet they were all carrying or maybe it was just time for this journey to be over.

After all the three of them had been through every kind of trial; walkers, dogs, strangers and each other, that the world could throw their way.

Daryl was not as excited as he thought he would be. His heart pounded six millions times in those two minutes they sat in shock and stared at the camp. Their camp it looked like. Carl grabbed Sophia's elbow as she was about to run out.

"We have to surprise them." Carl whispered his plan for how they should go about making an entrance. "We should just sneak in and act like we've been there the whole time."

"I'll go first." Daryl volunteered.

He crept out of the trees and around the RV. Daryl's stomach still felt all tied up. Maybe the gut feeling he had wasn't about the road but about finding the group. Or finding out that one of Carl's and Sophia's parents hadn't made it.

Despite how tight his abdomen felt, Daryl managed to sit down by the fire pit. The door to the RV opened with a sudden jarring _creak. _Dale appeared in the doorway.

Their eyes meet for a second, then Daryl looked away, picking up a rock beside him and started to kind of sharpen his knife on it just to be casual.

"Mornin' Dale," Rick came over.

One out of three. One by one familiar faces all turned towards him; T-Dog, Shane, Andrea, and Glenn twice. Lori had the biggest deer in the headlights look. The whole thing might've been funny if he didn't feel so awkward and uneasy.

_Where's Carol? _Daryl wanted to jump up and ask.

"What?" Daryl asked instead. He didn't need to put on an act, having everyone stare at him was making him feel naturally surly.

There she was. Carol joined the disbelieving cluster. The tension in his guts dissipated and pure joy exploded inside him. They had done it, they had gotten back to their families.

Behind the backs of the gathered group, Carl and Sophia burst out of the trees. They sat down on the ground and pretended to be playing in the grass. Carl's rabbit's foot was a hard bump in his pocket. Maybe they just needed a little bit of luck.

"Where…" Lori asked.

Daryl was ecstatic now that he knew neither Carl nor Sophia were orphaned. But still feeling the heat of everyone's attention all he could was nod to where the kids were. Everyone appeared to be too dumbstruck to get it.

"Turn around," he pointed to where they were.

All the attention went off him.

"Carl!" Rick yelled.

Him and Lori raced over to their long son. They crumbled into a happy crying mess.

Carol and Sophia did the same as they were tearfully mumbling 'I love you." And "I missed you so much."

Daryl was too enthralled with the reunion to notice when the rest of groups attention turned back to him. No one would've ever thought they would see gruff Daryl Dixon have such a soft smile or that sort of happiness in his eyes.

"Ya better not have fucked up my truck," he excused himself when he did become aware he was being stared at again.

Carol intercepted him as he was went to go check out his truck. She hugged him around the neck. Daryl just stood there stiffly, than patted her on the back.

"Thank you. Thanks for taking care of my little girl," she said in soft whisper.

"Ok." Daryl really didn't know what to say.

When Carol broke off, Rick was right there to take her place, clapping him on the shoulder.

"I can't thank you enough." Rick said slowly.

"Alright."

Lori came over and hugged him from the other side of her husband.

"We really, really can't." Lori said.

"Ok." Daryl said again.

She turned back to her son.

"What's all over your face?"

"It's camouflaged. We were hunting." Carl explained trying to wipe of the dried dirt.

"You must be starving." Lori said.

"No we had breakfast, eggs and rabbit." Sophia looked over at Daryl.

"Sounds like you eat better than us," Glenn said.

"As long as Sophia's not cooking." Carl joked.

"You know what you did." Sophia playfully hit his arm.

They may longer be missing physically but the inside joke gave light to the fact that there was things about them now that the rest of the group didn't understand. They were different.

Now that their families had had their moment together. The rest of group took the chance to welcome them back. Daryl was oddly shocked when that included him.

"No more hugs!" Daryl sternly ordered.

All the 'glad your backs' mad Daryl have an epiphany, which were more infrequent than gut feelings. He hadn't known Carl and Sophia from a hole in the ground when they first got separated. During their time together, he had really gotten to know them and they became two of the people he cared about most in what was left of the world. The rest of the group was like that, he just didn't know them very well since he had held them at arms length. Since he was going to stay with them (and he was, being alone had proved to be dangerous every time.) Daryl was going to try to not be so distant.

The afternoon went by in a flash. The tasks of the day unfortunately could not be put off. Carl and Sophia understandably hung out with their parents all day. Daryl went on the supply run with Shane, Glenn, and T-Dog. They told him he didn't have to and could rest but Daryl insisted.

The bottle whiskey he had found on their first night was sitting on a folding table under the awning. They had eaten most of the cakesters and the grouse eggs had broke and ruined their backpack so the whiskey was the only thing they really had brought back.

"Anyone wanna drink?" Daryl offered as he unscrewed the cap. Tonight he wasn't responsible for anyone.

He didn't have any takers so Daryl didn't bother get a cup and took a sip straight from the bottle.

As they had every night, they gathered around the campfire. That Sophia had started all by herself to everyone's surprise.

"You three must have quite the tale," Dale said.

All pair of eyes looked around at Daryl, Carl, and Sophia expectantly.

"I saw them standing all alone in that swarm so I grabbed them. We hung out in one of the houses for the first two days-ish, thinking y'all would come back looking for

'em." Daryl started at the very beginning. "I went out on the second night to see if my truck was there so maybe I could drive us out and I accidently stirred up that same swarm outside so we had to get the hell outta that house…"

They took turns recounting the previous twelve days. The only thing they left out was what happened with Maple Ann. It was water way under the bridge. No one outside themselves would understand what made them seek each other out in the dead of night or why Daryl had left in the first place because while they were recounting all the events, it was impossible to recount this new relationship between them.

The fire was nearly burnt out by the time they got through it all and everyone was ready for bed. Daryl stayed out by himself. The sight of the glowing lights in the tents made him happy, knowing that Sophia and Carl were happily tucked inside with their parents and Rick, Lori, and Carol would no longer be developing ulcers.

With a small insight to parenthood, he could slightly imagine the hell they would've felt every night their son and daughter were missing.

A strange feeling of loss hit him in the crisp night air. Daryl was actually going to miss taking care of those kids.

The next morning as they packed up the camp and prepared to hit the road, Daryl really didn't know what to do with himself and the emptiness increased as he drove behind the RV.

Carl and Sophia rode in the Peletier's Cherokee. No one had gotten their heads wrapped around the fact that they were together. While joy hadn't faded yet, they started missing Daryl's company so when the convoy stopped at a roadside convenience store to see what they could find. Carl and Sophia jumped out of the station wagon and hid on the floor of Daryl's truck.

"Hey," Daryl greeted when he opened the driver's door to find them huddled inside.

"Thought we could play I-spy," Carl said.

"Or the penis game." Sophia said.

"I will throw you out while the truck when it's moving if you start that."

He sat down in the driver's seat and turned the key. The kids settled themselves up on the seat and put on their seatbelts.

"Penis," one of them said.

"'Ey I will throw you out."

"No you won't," Sophia said.

"Why can't you go back to being afraid of me?" Daryl asked

They giggled. There were too many reasons not be afraid of him.

"Carl!" A panicked Lori called out.

They apparently didn't think to tell their parent where they were going to travel with him for the next part of the journey. Daryl gave them a rather un-amused look. Their poor mothers must be absolutely freaking. Carl and Sophia turned to each other with guilty expression.

Daryl stuck his head out the window.

"Relax, I'm watchin' 'em"

* * *

><p>The End.<p> 


End file.
